Server based gaming system and method for selectively providing one or more different tournaments

ABSTRACT

A gaming system includes a central server or controller operable to communicate a plurality of different commands to a plurality of gaming machines to provide non-tournament game play and to provide tournament game play on the same gaming machines.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation application of, claims priority toand the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/760,307, filed onJun. 8, 2007, which is a non-provisional application of, claims priorityto and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/804,642 filed on Jun. 13, 2006, and is a non-provisional applicationof, claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/864,711, filed on Nov. 7, 2006, the entirecontents of these applications are incorporated herein by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains or maycontain material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyrightowner has no objection to the photocopy reproduction by anyone of thepatent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appearsin the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwisereserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND

Gaming device manufacturers strive to make wagering gaming devices thatprovide as much enjoyment, entertainment and excitement as possible forplayers. Gaming tournaments, such as slot tournaments, are exciting forcertain players and are a widely used form of casino promotion.Generally, a slot tournament is a group event where a plurality ofplayers pay for or otherwise qualify to join the tournament. The playersindividually play the tournament on designated gaming machines. Thesedesignated gaming machines have the same gaming machine paytables. Theplayers may either play the same number of games, play for the sameallotted period of time or play with the same allotted initial amount ofmoney or number of credits. The winner or winners of the tournament aredetermined based on a highest tournament point score or a highestindividual game score. Certain tournament games have been slot games andpoker games.

More specifically, in a time based slot tournament, the gaming machinesused for the tournament are specially configured gaming machines that,upon the issuance of a start command by a game controller or operator,allow the players to play as fast as they can without requiring theplayer to input any additional money. For each player, the wins duringthe tournament are accumulated, held and displayed by the gaming machineas that player's points. At the end of the period of time, all of thegaming machines are disabled. The person having the highest accumulatednumber of points obtained during the tournament period is the winner.The winner is awarded a prize.

The end of known tournament sessions may be determined by more than onefactor, such as when the player runs out of time or credits. Forexample, each tournament player receives 1000 credits to bet and fifteenminutes to play the game. When the player runs out of the 1000 creditsor fifteen minutes pass, the player's tournament game play isterminated.

Tournaments are generally run on specially set-up gaming machines whichare commonly grouped together in a dedicated room or area in the casino.Tournament gaming machines grouped in a particular room limits thepublic's ability to view the tournament. Moreover, these gaming devicesare dedicated for playing in a tournament and are therefore not playedwhen a tournament is not in progress. That is, the dedicated tournamentgaming machines are only active during tournament play and do notprovide player's the ability to play other, non-tournament games onthese dedicated gaming machines. This gaming machine dedication iscostly to a casino because they take up floor space in the casino andbecause they are unoccupied or not played for significant amounts oftime.

It should be appreciated that even in situations where certain gamingmachines are not always dedicated for playing in a tournament,converting the gaming machines for use in the play of a tournamentrequires extensive set-up for the tournament. For each such tournament,a group of gaming machines is roped off to create a tournament area.Each tournament gaming machine must be taken out of service for a casinoworker to switch or adjust the hardware and/or software of the gamingmachine, and each of the gaming machines have to be rebooted toimplement the specific tournament game. Upon completion of thetournament, a casino worker has to switch or adjust the hardware and/orsoftware of each of the gaming machines back to the original hardwareand/or software and reboot each gaming machine for regular ornon-tournament play. This time intensive set-up and breakdown of thetournament gaming machines is expensive to the casino because of theidleness of the gaming machines during this time and the cost of thelabor for the set-up and breakdown of the tournament. Additionally,certain smaller casinos do not have enough floor space to dedicatecertain gaming machines to a tournament. For example, riverboat casinosare often too small to have dedicated tournament areas and are also toosmall to incur extensive set-up and take down costs for a tournament.

It should also be appreciated that the intensive set-up and breakdownprocess inherently requires that players play the tournament during thetime the gaming machines are in tournament mode. This manner of setuprequires an inflexible schedule of play for the players because theplayers must play the tournament gaming machines at the time allotted bya casino. Certain players often must leave the gaming machine they areplaying and go to one of the specific tournament gaming machines toparticipate in the tournament. Thus, current tournaments do not enableplayers to play at one's leisure. To incorporate even a small amount offlexibility of when players may participate in the tournament, a casinohas to allow the gaming machines to remain in tournament mode forextended periods of time which reduces playing time of non-tournamentplay and which does not maximize use of floor space. If a casino allowsflexibility, a number of gaming machines in tournament mode may becompletely unoccupied because players may not be playing them at alltimes. For example, to have a small window of flexibility, a casinoenables the 100 tournament players to play between 8 am and 1 pm andallot 25 gaming machines to the tournament. During the designated timeinterval (i.e., 8 am and 1 pm) there may be no players on the gamingmachines at some points in time, thus wasting valuable gaming machinetime and casino floor space. At some points, there may also be playerswanting to play the tournament, thereby wasting player time.

Additionally, current tournament modes often require an announcer toinform the players of the tournament schedule or status. Certain playersare intimidated or annoyed by such announcers and as a result avoidtournaments so they do not have to listen to the announcers.Additionally, often players must be in a certain range of the tournamentroom to hear the announcer and be aware of an upcoming tournament. Thissetup does not provide a way for informing all players of the tournamentand other pertinent tournament information.

With no way of informing current players about the tournament, casinoslose out on a valuable marketing tool for the tournament. They also haveno way to inform target players who are likely to be interested in thetournament, or to encourage tournament play by informing players ofentry requirements.

Therefore, there is a need for a new gaming system to improve aspects ofthe configuration and implementation of tournament game play.

SUMMARY

One embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a gaming systemincluding a central server or controller operable to communicate aplurality of different commands, instructions or other communications toa plurality of gaming devices to provide non-tournament game play andcommunicate a plurality of different commands, instructions or othercommunications to provide tournament game play on the same gamingdevices or machines. The gaming devices or machines of the gaming systemare operable to switch from non-tournament game play mode to tournamentgame play mode upon receipt of such commands, instructions or othercommunications from the central server or controller. Upon completion ofa tournament, the gaming system is operable to switch the gaming devicesor machines used in the tournament back to non-tournament game playmode.

In one embodiment, a plurality of the gaming machines are incommunication with or linked to a central controller, central server orremote host to form a gaming system. The central, controller, centralserver or remote host may be any suitable server or computing devicewhich at least includes a processor and a memory or storage device. Thecentral controller: (a) stores a plurality of different commands,instructions or other communications and is operable to cause theexecution of these commands on display devices of the gaming machineswhich act as a “thin client,” (b) stores a plurality of differentcommands, instructions or other communications, such as game programs,and sends one or more of the commands, instructions or othercommunications to each gaming machine and the individual gaming machinesexecute the received commands and therefore act as a “thick client”and/or (c) stores a plurality of different commands, instructions orother communications, such as game programs, and sends one or more ofthe different commands, instructions or other communications to eachgaming machine and the individual gaming machines execute the receivedcommands upon a further command from the central controller. In anotherembodiment, the central controller communicates with a plurality ofcomputers over the internet and enables the tournament to be played overthe internet or other suitable data network. It should be appreciatedthat the gaming system may include any suitable combinations ofcommunication and game control between the central controller and theindividual gaming machines to execute non-tournament game play andtournament game play.

In one embodiment, the central server or controller stores a pluralityof different executable game programs. In this embodiment, each gameprogram may represent a different setting, configuration, or mode ofgame play or type of game which may be played on one, more or each ofthe gaming machines in the gaming system.

In one embodiment, in non-tournament play mode, the central controllerstores a plurality of commands such as wagering game programs. Thecentral controller selects, executes and controls one or more of thegame programs on each of the gaming machines in the gaming system. Theselected game programs may be selected based on any suitable factor,such as but not limited to: (i) a player selection, (ii) apredetermination, (iii) a random determination, (iv) a player's wageramount, (v) a player's status (such as determined through a playertracking system), (vi) a level of a jackpot award, (vii) the time of dayor amount of time a game program is played, and (viii) a gamingestablishment operator command or instruction, and any combinationthereof. In these embodiments, the gaming machine is utilized to displaythe game program, which is executed by the central controller, receiveinputs from the player and provide any award to the player.

In one embodiment, the tournament game program is uploaded to thecentral controller. In one embodiment, the central controller alsoexecutes the selected tournament game program for each of theparticipating gaming machines in the tournament. That is, the gamingsystem utilizes the gaming machines to display the tournament gameprogram which is executed and controlled by the central controller.

In other embodiments, one or more selected game programs arecommunicated from the central controller to one or more gaming machinesand the gaming machine stores, selects and executes the game program. Inone embodiment, the gaming machines switch programs from thenon-tournament game program to the tournament program upon thetournament start time. In another embodiment, the gaming machinesactivate a tournament mode of the current game program. That is, insteadof switching to a new game program, the gaming machine switches to atournament mode of the gaming program currently running on the gamingmachine. The gaming machine then communicates or messages the outcome ofthe game program to the central controller.

For example, in non-tournament game play, a gaming machine stores one ora plurality of instructions and commands communicated from the centralcontroller. The gaming machine selects and executes a game from thestored instructions and commands. The selected game may be selectedbased on any suitable factor, such as but not limited to: (i) a playerselection, (ii) a predetermination, (iii) a random determination, (iv) aplayer's wager amount, (v) a player's status (such as determined througha player tracking system), (vi) a level of a jackpot award, (vii) thetime of day or amount of time a game program is played, (viii) a gamingestablishment operator command, instruction or other communication, orany combination thereof.

In another example, in tournament game play, the game program of thetournament is communicated from the central controller to each of theparticipating gaming machines or to each gaming machine of the gamingsystem. Encoded in the game program are the times for the rounds and/orof the sessions of the tournament. Multiple tournament embodimentsinclude players playing a tournament at a same time and at differenttimes. Upon the start time of the tournament where all of the playersplay the tournament at the same time, each of the participating gamingmachines automatically switches to tournament mode and executes thetournament game program at the same time. In another embodiment, thegaming machine only participates in the tournament game if it is anavailable gaming machine. In one embodiment, if the gaming machine isnot available, a gaming system or operator selects another gamingmachine to participate in the tournament. In another embodiment, thegaming system or operator makes the gaming machine available by settingup the non-tournament player on a different gaming machine. It should beappreciated that the gaming establishment may determine any suitablemethod of how to handle gaming machines that are scheduled toparticipate in a tournament that are being used for non-tournament gameplay at the start of a tournament.

In another embodiment, before a group tournament where the players playat the same time, the central controller messages the gaming machinesscheduled to participate in the tournament to go into a pre-tournamentmode a certain amount of time before the tournament start time, such asone hour before the scheduled tournament. If the gaming machine isunoccupied, the gaming machine posts a message to inform potentialplayers that the gaming machine is unavailable because the gamingmachine is awaiting a tournament. The gaming machine may additionallyprovide any other appropriate message to the player, such as how toenter the tournament, an advertisement, where to find a gaming machinewith the same game or games and/or how to play another tournament. If aplayer is playing on one of the gaming machines allocated for thetournament in pre-tournament mode, the gaming establishment maydetermine rules for that gaming machine, such as whether to selectanother gaming machine for the tournament and enable the player to keepplaying at the gaming machine.

In the embodiments where players play at different times, the tournamentgame program(s) may be: (i) previously downloaded to certain gamingmachines which are designated to the players, or (ii) sent to anddownloaded by the gaming machine upon an event. In one type oftournament, upon the logging onto a gaming machine, such as by insertionof a player tracking card or the entry of a player identificationnumber, code or name, by a player that has an outstanding tournamententry that may be played at the player's chosen time, the gaming machinedownloads that tournament game program from the central server. Thegaming machine then enables the player to play the tournament game atthat gaming machine. It should be appreciated that the player may or maynot play the tournament game at that gaming machine.

In one embodiment, each participating gaming machine communicates thegame results at certain time intervals to the central controller so thatresults of the tournament are displayed to players during the tournamentin real time.

In another embodiment, the central controller communicates a pluralityof executable game programs from a stored set or pool of game programsto a plurality of gaming machines. In this embodiment, upon a triggeringevent, such as the initiation of a tournament, the central controllerdetermines which game program that one, a plurality or all of the gamingmachines will execute. The central controller communicates the selectedgame program to one, a plurality or all of the gaming machines and thegaming machines execute the game program selected by the centralcontroller.

In one embodiment, the gaming system disclosed herein is integrated withone or more player tracking systems. In one embodiment, the gamingsystem and/or the player tracking system tracks the participatingplayer's gaming activity at each of the gaming machines the playerplays. In one such embodiment, the gaming system, the individual gamingmachine and/or the associated player tracking system timely tracks whena player initiates play of or logs onto a gaming machine by theinsertion of their playing tracking card, enters identifyinginformation, such as a player number or cashes in to begin a gamingsession and also timely tracks when a player ends play of or logs offthe gaming machine by removal of their player tracking card or concludesplay for that gaming session. That is, in one embodiment, the gamingsystem, the individual gaming machine and/or the associated playertracking system tracks a player logging onto the gaming machine and aplayer logging off of the gaming machine for each gaming session. Duringone or more gaming sessions, the gaming system, the individual gamingmachine and/or the associated player tracking system tracks any suitableinformation, such as any amounts wagered, average wager amounts and/orthe time wagers are placed. In different embodiments, for one or moreplayers, the player tracking system includes the player's accountnumber, the player's card number or other identification number, theplayer's first name, the player's surname, the player's preferred nameor nickname, the player's player tracking ranking, any promotion statusassociated with the player's player tracking card, the player's address,the player's birthday, the player's anniversary, the player's recentgaming sessions, or any other suitable data. It should be appreciatedthat the player tracking data may be used for any suitable purpose innon-tournament game play and in tournament game play.

In one embodiment, prior to tournament game play, the tournament must beconfigured. The gaming system is operable to be configured by aplurality of methods. The gaming system is operable to upload one ormore pre-configured tournament game programs to host a tournament. Thatis, a distributor configures and sells a plurality of differentpre-configured tournament game programs. The gaming system is operableto upload and store pre-configured game programs and to cause the playof the tournament based on the pre-configured game program.

The gaming system is operable to run a tournament on an uploadedpre-configured game program that is operable to be modified, enabling agaming establishment operator to customize the tournament. That is, agaming establishment may purchase a plurality of pre-configured gameprograms and upload the programs to the central server. The tournamentgame programs are configured for the gaming establishment operator toalter one or more default settings of the tournament. For example, thegaming establishment operator may change a parameter of the tournament,for example, the tournament award. The pre-configured tournament gameprograms enable a gaming establishment operator to customize thetournament in one or a plurality of ways. That is, the gamingestablishment operator inputs one or more configuration guidelines thatcontrol one or more elements of the tournament.

Additionally, the gaming system is operable for the gaming establishmentoperator to completely create or customize a tournament. That is, thegaming system enables the gaming establishment operator to configure anew and unique tournament based on one or more gaming establishmentoperator selectable tournament configurations or tournament elements.

In different embodiments, a plurality of elements must be configured foran operable tournament. These configurable elements include the time andlocation of the tournament, the duration of the tournament, the type oftournament, any player qualification criteria for entry into thetournament, a list of qualified players, the game or games for thetournament and the scoring and prizes for the tournament.

More specifically, one of the configurable elements is a tournamenttype, such as an invited guest tournament, or an automatic or bonustournament. The invited guest tournament has a predetermined guest listof players that may play in the tournament. Only players on this guestlist may register for the tournament and play in the tournament. In thistype of tournament, the guest list is loaded or manually entered intothe gaming system prior to the play of the tournament. In one embodimentof an automatic or bonus tournament, any suitable number of guests mayplay the automatic tournament immediately, or upon a scheduled time ortimes upon meeting certain eligibility or qualification requirements,such as winning a tournament entry in a non-tournament game play bonusgame.

In one embodiment, one of the configurable elements is the requiredqualifications or qualifiers for a player to play in the tournament. Incertain embodiments, the player tracking system provides the gamingsystem with information used in the determination of a tournamentqualification. It should be appreciated that any suitable qualifier maybe considered for tournament entry, including but not limited to: anamount wagered, an amount won, a jackpot win, a bonus win, a playertracking rank or a win from another tournament. In certain embodiments,only players in the player tracking system are eligible to participatein the tournament.

In one embodiment, one of the configurable elements is what type ofrounds the tournament will include. That is, one of the configurableelements is how the gaming system will enable the players to play in atournament. A tournament may include a single round, where the gamingsystem enables each player to play a single play of the tournament. Thetournament may include multiple rounds, where the gaming system enableseach of the players to play multiple plays of the tournament.

In one embodiment, the tournament is a synchronized tournament. In asynchronized tournament, multiple players compete in the tournament atthe same time. In one embodiment, each player plays the tournament on anassigned gaming machine and each player plays the tournamentsimultaneously. The players of the synchronized tournament play eachround at a same time or relatively the same time. That is, the playersof the synchronized tournament play the tournament on designated gamingmachines as a group. If there are more players than designated gamingmachines, the gaming system provides one or more sessions in each round.For example, if 100 players are competing against each other in thesynchronized tournament and only 50 gaming machines are designated forthe tournament, each round will include two separate sessions to enableeach of the players a play of the tournament for each round. At the endof synchronized tournament play, the gaming system determines a winnerbased on determined game parameters, such as the winner is the playerwith the highest point total for each of the rounds.

In a synchronized tournament embodiment, the tournament configurationincludes how the gaming machines for each player will be chosen. In oneembodiment, the gaming establishment operator determines and assigns agaming machine to each player. In another embodiment, the gamingestablishment operator enters all of the players into the gaming systemand the gaming system randomly determines and assigns a gaming machineto each person. That is, the gaming system determines and assigns agaming machine for each player of the tournament. In another embodiment,the tournament is completely determined by the gaming system. That is,the gaming system determines the players and the gaming machinesassigned to the each player. It should be appreciated that a gamingestablishment may implement any suitable randomized method to randomlydetermine or assign a gaming machine to a player. In one embodiment, therandom method of assigning gaming machines does not include input fromthe central controller but is completed by the gaming establishment byany suitable method. In another embodiment, a participating player maypick his or her own gaming machine for the tournament. For example, in asynchronized tournament, a player may enter a player tracking card or aplayer identification number into the gaming machine the player wants toplay on, prior to the start of the tournament and play the tournament atthat chosen gaming machine.

In other embodiments, the tournaments are self-scheduled tournaments. Inthe self-scheduled tournament, multiple players compete in thetournament at overlapping or different times. Each of the players playthe tournament on a server based gaming machine of that player's choice.Each of the players plays the tournament during a designated time period(such as a day, a week, or a month). However, the gaming system enablesthe player to determine exactly when to play the game during thatdesignated time period. Each of the players of the self-scheduledtournament may play a round of the tournament at different times, aslong as the tournament play is within the designated time period. In theself-scheduled tournament, the player decides when to play thetournament game and which participating gaming machine to play thetournament on. At the end of the designated time period for theself-scheduled tournament play, the gaming system determines a winnerbased the determined game parameters, such as the winner is the playerwith the highest combined point total.

In other embodiments, the tournaments are configured as bonustournaments. In one embodiment of a bonus tournament, duringnon-tournament game play, the gaming system awards the player atournament game as an award or bonus. Upon receiving the bonustournament entry, the gaming system enables the player to immediatelyplay the bonus tournament at the awarding gaming machine. The winner isdetermined at the end of a certain time period, such as every day. Atthe end of tournament time period, the gaming system determines a winnerbased on the determined game parameters. Alternatively, the tournamentis a delayed bonus tournament and the player is given an “entry” astheir bonus. The entry enables a player to enroll or play a tournamentat a later start time. In one embodiment, the bonus entry awarded to theplayer is for a synchronized tournament at a later date at the hostinggaming establishment.

In other embodiments, the tournaments are configured as on-demandtournaments. An on-demand tournament enables the player to request atournament. A player sends a request to the central controller asking tobe enrolled in the tournament. The central controller sends a message tothe player regarding their request. In one embodiment, the tournamentbegins when a predetermined number of players enroll in the tournament.For example, a tournament begins when forty players request and enterthe tournament. A player is enrolled against currently pending orenrolled players and the tournament starts as soon as forty players areenrolled. Until the forty players enroll in the tournament, the pendingplayers may continue non-tournament game play until the start of thetournament.

In other embodiments, the tournament is a self-scheduled tournament thatthe gaming system enables the player to play instantly. In one suchembodiment, the tournament is a self-scheduled tournament that theplayer may play instantly, but the results of the tournament areprovided after an occurrence of a triggering event. For example, theplayer may have to wait until a certain time, or until a certain numberof players have played the tournament game to know their final standing.Alternatively, the gaming system enables the player to play a tournamentgame against or according to a paytable. The gaming system compares theplayer's point total to a paytable. The gaming machine provides theplayer an award if they accrue a number of points associated with apayout.

In a further embodiment, the tournaments are configured as challengetournaments. A player can search for other players and send a requestthat one or more players join them in a tournament. In one embodiment,the players each place a wager on the tournament with the winnerreceiving a designated portion of the combined wagers. The gamingestablishment may retain a portion of the combined wagers, andrunner-ups in the tournament may also receive smaller designatedportions.

In one embodiment, the tournament configuration includes a maximumnumber of players for participation in the tournament and which gamingmachines will participate in the tournament. The tournamentconfiguration may include any suitable entry requirements to thetournament, such as entry fees.

It should be appreciated that the gaming system may determine one ormore winners of a tournament in any suitable manner or score atournament in any suitable manner. For example, in one embodiment, allof the players begin the tournament with a set number of points orcredits to wager with and the player with the most accumulated points orcredits at the end of the tournament is the winner. In anotherembodiment, the players have an unlimited number of points or credits towager with and the player with the most accumulated points or credits atthe end of the tournament wins.

In another embodiment, the player with the most occurrences of adesignated event or a designated outcome is the winner. For example, theplayer with the most 777 symbol combinations generated during thetournament wins the tournament. In another example, the player with themost scatter pay occurrences wins the tournament. In another embodiment,the player with most occurrences of a single designated symbol wins thetournament. For example, the gaming system determines the winner of thetournament based on which player has accumulated or generated the mostwild symbols during the tournament. In another embodiment, the playerwith the most occurrences or generations of one or more designatedgroups of symbols wins the tournament. In another embodiment, the playerwith the most occurrences of an event in a certain time period duringthe tournament is the winner of the tournament. For example, upon theoccurrence of a triggering event, the gaming system monitors adesignated outcome or event for a certain time period to determine thetournament winner.

In one embodiment, an occurrence of a designated event or outcomedetermines when the tournament ends. In one embodiment, the designatedevent or outcome is a designated event or outcome achieved by a singleplayer. For example, when a single player achieves the symbolcombination of five seven symbols, the tournament ends. In anotherembodiment, the designated event or outcome is a designated event oroutcome achieved by each of a designated number of players. For example,when five players achieve the symbol combination of five seven symbols,the tournament ends. It should be appreciated that the tournament mayend for any suitable reason.

In various alternative embodiments, the tournament can have multiplewinners. In one such embodiment, the gaming system determines a firsttournament winner based on a first method of scoring, such as the playerwith the most points or credits (as discussed above). The gaming systemadditionally determines one or more second tournament winners based on asecond method of scoring, such as the most occurrences of a designatedevent, such as an occurrence of a symbol, a symbol combination, etc. Inone example, the tournament has two different categories of scoring. Theplayer with the most points or credits wins a first prize and the playerwith the most occurrences of a designated outcome or event wins a secondprize. If the same player wins the most points and has the mostoccurrences of a designated outcome, then the same player wins the firstand the second prizes. The gaming system may provide any suitable numberof players wins or prizes based on any suitable criteria.

The tournament can include multiple winners in other suitable manners.For example, the gaming system determines one tournament winner based ona first method of scoring (such as the player with the most credits) andadditionally determines one or more tournament winners of one or moreintermittent awards or prizes. In one embodiment, the intermittent orintermediate award or prize is determined by a sub-tournament based on asuitable method of scoring. For example, the player with the mostoccurrences of a designated outcome or event during a time period of thetournament, which is a portion of or less than the total time period ofthe tournament, wins the intermittent award or prize. For example, theplayer with the most winning symbol combinations in the first fiveminutes wins an intermediate award or prize. In another example, the topfive players with the most wins on a certain payline win intermittentprizes. In another embodiment, the player with the most occurrences ofwinning outcomes wins an intermediate award or prize. In anotherembodiment, the player with the most occurrences of winning outcomes ina row wins an intermediate award or prize. In another embodiment, theplayer with the most occurrences of losing outcomes in a row wins anintermediate award or prize. In another embodiment, the player with thehighest single payout wins an intermediate award or prize. In anotherembodiment, the player with the highest average payout wins anintermediate award or prize. The gaming system may provide any suitablenumber of players wins or prizes based on any suitable criteria.

In other embodiments, a game outcome of one player may affect one ormore of the games, points or credits of one or more other players. Whena player achieves a designated outcome during a tournament, the gamingsystem changes one or more aspects of one or more other player's games,points or credits. For example, during a tournament, every time a playerachieves a designated symbol combination, the gaming system providesthat player an award funded by each of the other players. For example,Player A achieves the outcome of the symbol combination oflemon-lemon-orange-orange on the first payline. The gaming systemprovides Player A an award of $15 funded by the other players of thegaming system. That is, the gaming system takes credits from thenon-triggering players and provides it to the triggering player. In oneembodiment, the gaming system takes a set amount from eachnon-triggering player, such as $0.50 and provides the triggering playerwith the total. In another embodiment, the gaming system provides thetriggering player a predetermined amount and the players fund thepredetermined amount. For example, the amount is $20.00. When there are5 non-triggering players, each player must pay $4.00. However, whenthere are 10 non-triggering players, each player must pay only $2.00. Inanother embodiment, when a player achieves a designated outcome during atournament, the tournament play of one or more non-triggering playersstops for a certain time period. For example, when a triggering playerachieves a certain number of a designated symbol combination, the gamingsystem freezes tournament game play for a period of 15 seconds on theother gaming machines of one or more non-triggering players. In anotherembodiment, when a player achieves a designated outcome during atournament, the tournament play time of one or more non-triggeringplayer's decreases for a certain time period. In another embodiment,when a player achieves a designated outcome during a tournament, thetournament play for the triggering player increases for a certain amountof time. That is, the play of the tournament for the triggering playeris extended. In another embodiment, when a player achieves a designatedoutcome during a tournament, the gaming system removes time fromnon-triggering players and provides such time to the triggering player.For example, when a player achieves a designated event, the gamingsystem takes a minute from the tournament time of each non-triggeringtournament player and provides it to the triggering player. For example,if there is one triggering player and 27 non-triggering players, thetriggering player's tournament game time is extended by 27 minutes andeach of the 27 non-triggering tournament players' tournament timedecreases by one minute. It should be appreciated that any suitableaspect of one or more player's game play may affect one or more aspectsof other players' tournaments.

In one embodiment, the tournament configuration includes the game playand prize structure of the tournament. For example, the tournamentconfiguration includes the tournament game, the paytable for thetournament game, the method of scoring for the tournament and anybonusing or bonus modes for that tournament game.

It should be appreciated that any suitable game or combinations of gamesmay be employed as a tournament game or as a non-tournament game,including but not limited to slot, keno, bingo, bunco, poker, blackjack,craps, and checkers. In one embodiment, the gaming system is operable toconvert any suitable game into a tournament game. That is, in oneembodiment, the gaming system may take a suitable game and convert it toa tournament game using the existing game program. In one suchembodiment, the gaming system disables certain features, such as one ormore bonus features, in the tournament game. In another embodiment, thegaming system does not disable such features and enables the player toeither keep the points from the bonus for the tournament total points orto keep the winnings won from the game or bonus features. For example, abonus mode may slow down the tournament game and therefore, the gamingsystem enables the player to keep the winnings from that bonus game ascredits to be used in non-tournament games.

In one embodiment, the tournament game is a customizable game which hasa different theme or is not available as a primary or bonus game. Thisembodiment enables the gaming establishment to “brand” their tournamentgames to give them a specific look. Branding enables the tournament gameto be associated with the specific gaming establishment. Branding iseasily recognized by players who will associate the specific look withthe specific gaming establishment and the tournament mode. The noveltyof the new game look is exciting for certain players in part because itprovides new stimulation, and is otherwise eye-catching to draw otherplayers to be interested in the tournament. These custom games mayinclude elements not available to non-tournament games, such asdifferent themes or different paytables.

In one embodiment, a gaming establishment operator may customize one ormore aspects of the game. That is, in one embodiment, the gaming systemenables the gaming establishment operator to select the game of thetournament. The gaming system then enables the player to select furtherfeatures or aspects of the selected game, such as the winningcombinations for the tournament.

In one embodiment, the gaming establishment operator determines thewinning outcomes of the tournament and the probability of the playersgenerating the winning outcomes during the tournament. In oneembodiment, the gaming system enables the gaming establishment operatorto determine the likelihood of achieving the winning outcomes and theprobability of the players achieving the outcomes.

In another embodiment, the present disclosure accomplishes a way ofguaranteeing that at least one or more players in the tournament areprovided an outcome that results in a large award or jackpot award beingdisplayed to the player during the tournament. Some players have neverseen gaming machines provide such large awards to players duringtournament play or regular non-tournament play. Thus, in variousembodiments described below, the tournament gaming system guaranteesthat at least one or more players receives a game outcome associatedwith a maximum award or top ranking during tournament game play.

More specifically, in one embodiment, the tournament is configured toguarantee that at least one player will achieve a designated outcomethat is associated with a designated award amount, such as a maximumaward amount, for a game played during the tournament. That is, in oneembodiment, the tournament game outcomes include a game outcome that isassociated with a maximum award, jackpot award or a maximum or largeamount of points or non-redeemable credits. The tournament is configuredsuch that at least one participating gaming machine of the tournamentgenerates the game outcome associated with this maximum award duringeach tournament and displays or indicates the associated or maximumaward to one of the players. This maximum award or jackpot award is notan overall win of the tournament, but is one of a plurality oftournament game awards displayed to a player during the course of thetournament. The gaming system accumulates each of the player's displayedawards during the course of the tournament to determine each player'soverall tournament score or accumulated credit total. The gaming systemdetermines the winner of the tournament based on each tournamentplayer's overall tournament score at the end of the tournament. That is,the gaming system does not actually provide a monetary amount to aplayer for an individual tournament game award, such as the maximumaward, but uses each tournament game award to determine the tournamentwinner.

For ease of discussion, the maximum award is used herein primarily todescribe different embodiments of providing designated awards to aplayer. It should be appreciated the present disclosure is not limitedto guaranteeing a display of maximum awards or outcomes and may includeany suitable designated amount, designated award or designated prize.

In one embodiment, the gaming system changes the probability ofachieving a maximum award until at least one gaming machineparticipating in the tournament generates the outcome associated withthe maximum award and displays the maximum award to the player. Forexample, in one embodiment, the maximum award is associated with awinning game outcome that has an initial probability of being generatedin the tournament. As the tournament progresses, if that winning gameoutcome has not been generated in association with one of the tournamentgames, the probability associated with that winning game outcomeincreases as the tournament progresses such that the probability of agaming machine generating or providing the winning game outcome comesclose to or reaches one-hundred percent by the end of the tournament.

In certain embodiments, the probability of generating a game outcomeassociated with a maximum award increases evenly for each participatinggaming machine.

In certain embodiments, the probability of generating a game outcomeassociated with a maximum award increases differently for one or moreparticipating gaming machines or does not increase at all for someparticipating gaming machines. The probability of generating a gameoutcome associated with a maximum award may be based on any suitablefactor.

It should be appreciated that a single maximum award may be displayed toone or a plurality of players during a tournament and added to thoseplayers' overall tournament scores. It should also be appreciated thatthe tournament may include a plurality of maximum awards that may bedisplayed to a plurality of players during a tournament and added tothose players' overall tournament scores.

In another embodiment, the tournament has a predetermined pool of gameoutcomes. Once a game outcome is generated by one of the gaming machinesor a central controller during a tournament, that game outcome isunavailable to the other gaming machines for the duration of thetournament. In this embodiment, as each award or game outcome isprovided to one of the players, the gaming system flags or removes theprovided award or other game outcome from the predetermined set or pool.Once flagged or removed from the set or pool, the specific providedaward or game outcome from that specific pool cannot be provided to theplayers again. This type of gaming system provides players with all ofthe available awards or other game outcomes over the course of the playcycle and guarantees the amount of awards displayed to the playersduring the course of the tournament. In one such embodiment, thepredetermined pool of game outcomes includes one or more designated gameoutcomes associated with a maximum award or jackpot award. Therefore,the tournament is configured to guarantee that at least one gamingmachine will generate the designated outcome and display a maximumaward, a maximum amount or a jackpot award to a player during the playof the tournament. In another such embodiment, the predetermined pool ofgame outcomes includes one or more maximum awards or jackpot awards. Thegaming system accumulates the awards displayed to the players and themaximum award or jackpot award counts towards the player's tournamentscore.

In another embodiment, one or more designated game outcomes are in apredetermined pool of game outcomes, and these designated game outcomesare associated with maximum or jackpot awards. In one embodiment, eachof the other game outcomes is randomly determined. Upon an occurrence ofa triggering event, the gaming system generates the game outcomes in thepool of outcomes and provides them to one or more players during thetournament. Therefore, at least one gaming machine displays a maximumaward to the player during the course of the tournament. The gamingmachine accumulates the maximum award in addition to the awardsassociated with other game outcomes generated for the player during thecourse of the tournament. The gaming system determines the tournamentwinner or winners based on each player's accumulated tournament score.

The tournament configuration is stored by the central controller and thegaming system invites players to participate in the tournament in anysuitable manner based on the configured qualification criteria. Thegaming system may invite players to participate in the tournament viathe internet, postal mail, leaflets, gaming machines, on-screenmessaging, signage, kiosks, player carding or in any other suitablemanner.

The gaming system may enable the players to accept a tournament inviteor register for a tournament via a gaming establishment employee,self-registration at a kiosk or at a gaming machine, the postal mail,the internet or in any other suitable manner.

The tournament invitation process and the tournament registrationprocess may be integrated in any suitable manner in with a playertracking system.

It should be appreciated that the gaming system may provide any suitablemessaging to the players before, during and after the tournament. Forexample, if the player tries to register for a tournament, but is notqualified for the tournament, a kiosk or a gaming machine informs theplayer as to why that player is not qualified. The display devices ofthe gaming machines may display the requirements and qualifications fortournament entry. Appropriate safeguards may be initiated to ensure thata non-qualified player is not able to register for the tournament.

In one embodiment, the central controller broadcasts performancemessaging to one or more devices in the gaming system. In oneembodiment, the central controller is incorporated with a sign managerthat integrates with the central controller to display any suitableinformation. For example, if the central controller receives coin-inmeters at a set rate, the central controller communicates with the signmanager based on that rate to broadcast suitable updates regardingplayer status's game and tournament results.

By utilization of the central server to communicate with each signcontroller, the gaming system presents a wealth of information to theplayer about not only tournaments the player is participating in, butalso other tournaments or jackpot awards that may be available to theplayer. Furthermore, the central server, the player tracking system andthe sign controller configuration enables for the signs/display devicesto be custom tailored to the player who is playing each gaming machineto provide the player with information that will be most beneficial totheir gaming session.

The gaming system enables the registered players to play the tournamentat the determined tournament times, depending on the type of tournament.For example, in a synchronized tournament, each of the players play thetournament at the same scheduled times. In a self-scheduled tournament,the gaming system provides the player times to play the tournament atregistration. In a bonus tournament, the registration and tournamentgame play are immediate upon tournament qualification.

For example, in a single round synchronized tournament embodiment, thecentral controller sends the tournament game program to each of theparticipating gaming machines. It should be appreciated that the centralcontroller may send the tournament game program at any point prior tothe start of the tournament. In one embodiment, at a certain time periodprior to the start of the tournament session, the central controllersends a message to display the available tournament credits and/ortournament minutes on the display device of each gaming machineparticipating in the tournament. The gaming system displays playerinformation, such as a name or nickname of the participating players onone or more display devices. The gaming system begins the tournament andenables the players to play the tournament according to the tournamentparameters. Upon an event during the tournament, each gaming machinesends the player's information and scores to the central server. Theevent may be any suitable event, such as an amount of time (i.e., everysecond or every minute) or upon the end of each game on that gamingmachine. The central server causes the display of the player informationon one or more display devices in the gaming establishment and/or on oneor more display devices of the participating gaming machines and/or onthe internet, thus providing up to date/real time ranking and scoringinformation for the tournament.

Upon completion of the synchronized tournament, the central controllerdetermines a rank for each of the players according to the configuredtournament rules. The gaming system awards a prize to the determinedwinner or winners. In one embodiment, a prize ticket is printed off atthe gaming machine of the winner so that player does not have to leavethe gaming machine. The gaming system sends a message, instruction or acommand to each of the participating gaming machines causing the gamingmachines to switch back into non-tournament play mode.

For example, in a single round self-scheduled tournament embodiment, thecentral controller sends the tournament game program to each of theparticipating gaming machines. Upon registration, a player is given acertain time period to play the tournament, such as between 6:00 am and3:00 pm any time within the next week. During this designated timeperiod, the gaming system enables the player to play the self-scheduledtournament at any of the participating gaming machines. In oneembodiment of the self-scheduled tournament, only players that aremembers of the player tracking system may play the tournament.

Upon completion of the entire self-scheduled tournament, the centralcontroller determines a rank for each of the players according to theconfigured tournament rules. The gaming system awards a prize to thedetermined winner or winners.

In one embodiment, the tournament is a self-scheduled tournament whichincludes multiple players and multiple rounds. That is, each player ofthe multiple players plays the tournament at that player's own paceafter qualification for the tournament round. In this example of themulti-round self-scheduled tournament, the score of each round of thetournament counts towards a final tournament score which determines thewinner of the tournament. The tournament may include any suitable numberof rounds and the tournament may be configured using any suitablespecifications.

For example, the tournament duration is a month and during that month,the player may play a limit of 25 rounds. This limit may be set by thegaming establishment in any suitable manner. The player may play onlyone round a day. The designated time period for the self-scheduledtournament is any time of the day upon qualification that day. That is,at any point during that day if a player meets the qualificationcriteria for that day, the gaming system sends a message to the playerthat the player is eligible to play a tournament round at any time theplayer wants before midnight on that date. This process can be repeatedon 25 different days within the time frame the gaming system enablesthat player to play a round of the tournament. For example, to qualifyto play a tournament round that day, a player must earn a certain numberof player tracking points. Player tracking points are part of playertracking programs that are individually established by gamingestablishments. Player tracking points may be earned in any suitablemanner, such as by an amount wagered, time played, game wins or anyother suitable method. In this example, to qualify for the tournament,the player must earn 100 points that day. Upon qualification, any serverbased gaming machine is operable to enable the qualified player to playthe tournament. In one embodiment, the score of each of these 25sessions will count towards a player's final tournament score. In analternative embodiment, only a set number of the player's best sessionswill count. At the end of the month, the gaming system provides theplayer with the highest final tournament score (the sum of each roundscore) an award or prize.

In another embodiment, the tournament is a multi-round combinationtournament that includes the following two parts: a preliminaryself-scheduled rounds and a final synchronized round. The first part ofthe tournament is a preliminary self-scheduled tournament that includesmultiple players and multiple rounds. In this example of the multi-roundcombination tournament, the score of one or more of the preliminaryrounds counts towards a final preliminary tournament round score whichqualifies a player to play in a final synchronized round of thetournament. This final synchronized round is played at a certain time ona certain day and determines the winner of the multi-round combinationtournament. That is, instead of each round contributing to a finaltournament score, the preliminary tournament round scores determinequalification to play a final synchronized round to determine thetournament winner(s). The tournament may include any suitable number ofpreliminary rounds and the tournament may be configured using anysuitable specifications. Upon qualification, any server based gamingmachine is operable to enable the player to play tournament games for apreliminary round. The determined number of preliminary round scorescontribute to the player's final preliminary tournament score.

For example, the designated time period for the preliminaryself-scheduled rounds is a week and the preliminary round number limitis five. That is, during one week, a player may play the tournament gameupon qualification that day. Five rounds count toward a finalpreliminary round score. Alternatively, only a select number of theplayer's best scores determine their preliminary score. A certain numberof players, such as the players with the top five final preliminaryround scores, qualify to play the final synchronized tournament round at6 pm on the Saturday after the end of the preliminary rounds of thetournament. The gaming system determines a winner based on the finaltournament round scores.

It should be appreciated that in these multi-round embodiments, indifferent embodiments each score of each game and each round does notcount towards that player's final tournament score. For example, in oneembodiment, for each player, only the top three scores from all of therounds played by that player count towards a final tournament score. Inanother embodiment, only the top three scores count towards a finalpreliminary round score to compete in a final tournament round. In oneembodiment, it is possible to play as few as three different rounds andwin the preliminary round. A player may also increase their chances ofachieving a better score by playing more rounds in the gamingestablishment and submitting up to the limit of 20 scores (from whichthe top three will be entered). In one embodiment, the players may beone or more rounds on the internet or other data network. It should alsobe appreciated that any suitable qualifier or qualifiers may be used todetermine qualification for the tournament.

In another example tournament, the tournament is an instant synchronizedtournament which is conducted at random times a certain number of timeseach day to create spontaneous excitement among the players. In oneembodiment, any player or particular groups of players (such as higherlevel players) that participate in a player tracking system can qualifyto be a tournament contestant by meeting specific tournament criteria.Alternatively, any player, including any players not in a playertracking system, can qualify by meeting specific tournament criteria. Ifa player qualifies for the instant synchronized tournament, in oneembodiment, the player is required to stand-by in the gamingestablishment to play the tournament. The gaming establishment notifiesthe players at the start of the tournament. For example, the gamingestablishment makes an audio announcement, announcing the start of thetournament or communicates with the sign manager to inform the playersof the tournament via different gaming establishment display devices orby providing on-screen messaging. At the start time of that tournament,the player must be at a designated server based gaming machine and beidentified to the gaming machine, such as by the insertion of a playertracking card. The gaming system initiates the tournament. The gamingsystem determines a winner based on the configured game criteria andprovides the tournament winner a prize.

It should be appreciated that the gaming system may run an instanttournament on any number of days and any number of times in a day. Thetime of the instant synchronized tournament may be randomly determined,predetermined, or based on any suitable tournament information, such asthe number of eligible players. The time may also be based on the gamingestablishment's data trends, such as having a tournament when the gamingestablishment is known to have a “low traffic” time, such as Tuesdaymornings.

In another embodiment, the tournament is a multi-round self-scheduledtournament, where upon qualification and registration, the gaming systeminforms the players of the number of rounds of the tournament and datesand times for each round. Qualified players can play their rounds atleisure within configured times. For example, a self-scheduledtournament first round is between 9 am and 12 pm on Saturday, the secondround is between 1 pm and 3 pm on Saturday and the third round isbetween 4 pm and 6 pm on Saturday. In this self-scheduled tournamentmode, the gaming system enables the player to play games innon-tournament mode at a gaming machine, make an input to play thetournament at that same gaming machine, to play the tournament at thatsame gaming machine and then switch back to non-tournament mode andcontinue playing regular, non-tournament games at that same gamingmachine. This setup facilitates the player's privacy to play theirtournament and removes some of the hoopla and announcing that certainplayers do not enjoy during current tournaments.

In another example, the tournaments can take other forms, such as anon-demand tournament, a player challenge tournament, a bonus tournament,or a delayed bonus tournament.

It should be appreciated that all of the gaming machines should beoperable to work with the player tracking system to have the capacity toautomatically maintain contest scores and display standings after playeridentification at the gaming machine, such as by a player card entry,entry of an identification number or any other means. Additionally, thegaming machines must have the ability to switch into the tournament modeas required by the tournament or by the player.

In certain tournaments with a number of sessions, players often perceivethat if they have a bad first round, they have no chance of actuallywinning the tournament. Thus, the player may give up on the tournamentand terminate further tournament play.

The gaming system in various embodiments implements a turbo mode orbonus mode for any suitable reason or upon any suitable triggeringevent. For example, one or more turbo modes may be available to a playerfor a minute when that player ranks in the last five of the tournament.In one embodiment, the turbo modes are triggered upon a game event, suchas a symbol combination. In another embodiment, turbo modes are randomlyawarded to players during the tournament. It should be appreciated thatone or more turbo awards may be awarded to the same player at the sametime. In one embodiment, the gaming system implements a turbo mode basedon a suitable math model that is favored to help a player make up groundif they are trailing and keep the tournament more interesting for allplayers. Various embodiments of a turbo mode include: extra symbolwilds, locked expanding wilds, scatter pays or extra scatter pays,random multipliers, higher paytables, extra points, additional winningcombinations, faster play, auto play, extra paylines or extra ways,extra reels, or any other desired features.

Accordingly, by storing a plurality of different game programs andselecting, on demand, one or more game programs to be executed, thegaming system disclosed herein enables multiple types of different gamesto be played on a same gaming machine, enabling non-tournament andtournament game play.

Additional features and advantages are described in, and will beapparent from, the following Detailed Description and the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the central controller in communicationwith a plurality of gaming machines in accordance with one embodimentdisclosed herein.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views of alternative embodiments of thegaming machine of the gaming system disclosed herein.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic configuration ofone embodiment of the gaming machine of the gaming system disclosedherein.

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of certain tournament parameters that arecustomizable for a tournament via a pull down menu in accordance withone embodiment disclosed herein.

FIG. 5 is a screen shot of certain parameters of certain tournamentparameters that are customizable for a tournament in accordance with oneembodiment disclosed herein.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of one method of one embodiment of tournamentconfiguration.

FIG. 7 is a table of possible elements to be considered in playerqualification for the tournament.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of the method of one embodiment disclosed herein,illustrating that the gaming system enables a gaming establishmentemployee to register a player for the tournament.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of the method of one embodiment disclosed herein,illustrating the gaming system enabling player self-registration for thetournament.

FIG. 10 is front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of agaming machine of the gaming system disclosed herein enabling playerself-registration for the tournament.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating one method of synchronizedtournament game play.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of one embodiment of a display device of agaming machine upon a player's invitation to play one of the embodimentsof a multi-round synchronized tournament.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of one embodiment of a display device of agaming machine upon a player's invitation to play one of the embodimentsof a multi-round synchronized tournament.

FIGS. 14A, 14B, 14C and 14D are perspective views of one embodiment ofan instant synchronized tournament.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart of one method of one embodiment disclosedherein, illustrating the assignment of gaming machines for a tournament.

FIGS. 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D and 16E is a flow chart of one method of oneembodiment of a tournament disclosed herein.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart of one method of one embodiment disclosedherein, illustrating one method of an automatic tournament.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart of one method of one embodiment disclosedherein, illustrating one method of a self-scheduled tournament.

FIGS. 19A and 19B are enlarged views of one embodiment of a displaydevice of a gaming machine displaying to the player the beginning andend of a sub-tournament.

FIGS. 20A and 20B are enlarged views of one embodiment of a displaydevice of a gaming machine displaying to the player the beginning andend of a sub-tournament.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of increasing aprobability of generating a designated symbol combination associatedwith a maximum award.

FIGS. 22A, 22B, 22C and 22D are charts illustrating the probabilitiesassociated with the generation of symbol combinations changing atdifferent times in a tournament.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of a tournament thatincludes providing the determined tournament jackpot award from anoutcome pool upon an occurrence of a triggering event and randomlydetermining other tournament awards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates in general to a gaming system including acentral controller and a plurality of different gaming machines. Each ofthe gaming machines is operable with the central controller to provide atournament game to the player in addition to one or more non-tournamentgames to the player.

The central controller either stores a plurality of different commandsor instructions, such as game programs, and causes the execution ofthese commands on display devices of the gaming machines or sends one ormore commands to each gaming machine and the individual gaming machinesexecute the received commands. It should be appreciated that the gamingsystem may include any suitable combinations of communication and gamecontrol between the central controller and the individual gamingmachines to execute tournament game play and non-tournament game play.

In one embodiment, the computerized instructions for controlling thegame or games are executed by a central server, central controller orremote host. In such a “thin client” embodiment, the central serverremotely controls the games (or other suitable interfaces) and thegaming device is utilized to display such games (or suitable interfaces)and receive one or more inputs or commands from a player. In anotherembodiment, the computerized instructions for controlling the games arecommunicated from the central server, central controller or remote hostto a gaming device local processor and memory devices. In such a “thickclient” embodiment, the gaming device local processor executes thecommunicated computerized instructions to control any games (or othersuitable interfaces) provided to a player.

In one embodiment, one or more gaming devices in a gaming system may bethin client gaming devices and one or more gaming devices in the gamingsystem may be thick client gaming devices. In another embodiment,certain functions or games of the gaming device are implemented in athin client environment and certain other functions or games of thegaming device are implemented in a thick client environment. In one suchembodiment, computerized instructions for controlling any primary gamesare communicated from the central server to the gaming device in a thickclient configuration and computerized instructions for controlling anysecondary games, tournament games and/or bonus functions are executed bya central server in a thin client configuration.

Referring to FIG. 1, in one embodiment a plurality of gaming machines orgaming machines 14 a, 14 b . . . 14 z are in communication with orlinked to a central server or processor 12 to form a gaming system 10.In this embodiment, the game program to be executed by one, more or eachof the gaming machines is selected by the central server andcommunicated to the appropriate gaming machine. The number of gamingmachines in the gaming system can vary as desired by the implementer ofthe gaming system. These gaming machines are referred to hereinalternatively as the group of gaming machines, the gaming machines, thelinked gaming machines or the system gaming machines. The play of eachof the gaming machines 14 a, 14 b . . . 14 z in the group is determined,at least in part, by the central server 12.

The central server or controller may be any suitable server or computingdevice which includes a processor and a memory or storage device. Inalternative embodiments, the central server is a progressive controlleror another gaming machine in the gaming system. In one embodiment, thememory device stores different game programs and instructions,executable by a gaming machine processor, to control the gaming machine.Each executable game program represents a different type game which maybe played on one, more or each of the gaming machines in the gamingsystem. Such different games may include the same or substantially thesame game play with different paytables. The game programs include oneor more tournament games that are playable on a plurality of the gamingmachines each playable by a single player. In different embodiments, theexecutable game program is for a primary game, a secondary game or both,in addition to the one or more tournament games. In another embodiment,the game program may be executable as a secondary game to be playedsimultaneously with the play of a primary game which may be downloadedfrom the central server to the gaming machine or fixed on the gamingmachine or vice versa.

The memory device also stores other data such as image data, event data,player input data, random or pseudo-random number generators, pay-tabledata or information and applicable game rules that relate to the play ofthe gaming machine. In one embodiment, the memory device includes randomaccess memory (RAM). In one embodiment, the memory device includes readonly memory (ROM). In one embodiment, the memory device includes flashmemory and/or EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read onlymemory). Any other suitable magnetic, optical and/or semiconductormemory may operate in conjunction with the gaming system disclosedherein.

In one embodiment, a gaming machine processor of each gaming machine maybe designed to facilitate transmission of signals between the individualgaming machine and the central server or controller. In one embodiment,the data network is a local area network (LAN), in which one, more oreach of the gaming machines are substantially proximate to each otherand an on-site central server or controller as in, for example, a gamingestablishment or a portion of a gaming establishment. In anotherembodiment, the data network is a wide area network (WAN) in which one,more or each of the gaming machines are in communication with at leastone off-site central server or controller. In this embodiment, theplurality of gaming machines may be located in a different part of thegaming establishment or within a different gaming establishment than theoff-site central server or controller. Thus, the WAN may include anoff-site central server or controller and an off-site gaming machinelocated within gaming establishments in the same geographic area, suchas a city or state. The WAN gaming system may be substantially identicalto the LAN gaming system described above, although the number of gamingmachines in each system may vary relative to each other.

In another embodiment, the data network is an internet or intranet. Inthis embodiment, the operation of each gaming machine can be viewed atthat gaming machine with at least one internet browser. In thisembodiment, operation of each gaming machine and accumulation of creditsmay be accomplished with only a connection to the central server orcontroller (the internet/intranet server), through a conventional phoneor other data transmission line, digital subscriber line (DSL), T-1line, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, or other suitable connection. Inthis embodiment, players may access an internet game page from anylocation where an internet connection and computer, or other internetfacilitator are available. The expansion in the number of computers andnumber and speed of internet connections in recent years increasesopportunities for players to play from an ever-increasing number ofremote sites. It should be appreciated that enhanced bandwidth ofdigital wireless communications may render such technology suitable forsome or all communications, particularly if such communications areencrypted. Higher data transmission speeds may be useful for enhancingthe sophistication and response of the display and interaction with theplayer.

Two alternative embodiments of the gaming machines of the gaming systemare illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B as gaming machine 14 a and gamingmachine 14 b, respectively. Gaming machine 14 a and/or gaming machine 14b are generally referred to herein as gaming machine 14.

In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, each gamingmachine in the gaming system has a support structure, housing or cabinetwhich provides support for a plurality of displays, inputs, controls andother features of a conventional gaming machine. It is configured sothat a player can operate it while standing or sitting. Each gamingmachine may be positioned on a base or stand or can be configured as apub-style table-top game (not shown) which a player can operatepreferably while sitting. As illustrated by the different configurationsshown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the gaming machine may have varying cabinetand display configurations.

In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 3, each gaming machine in thegaming system at least includes at least one gaming machine processor60, such as a microprocessor, a microcontroller-based platform, asuitable integrated circuit or one or more application-specificintegrated circuits (ASIC's). In one embodiment, the gaming machineprocessor is in communication with or operable to access or to exchangesignals with at least one local data storage or local memory device 62.In one embodiment, the gaming machine processor and the local memorydevice reside within the cabinet of the gaming machine.

In one embodiment, the local memory device stores, at least in part,program code and instructions, executable by the gaming machineprocessor, to control the gaming machine. The local memory device mayalso store, at least in part, other data such as image data, event data,player input data, random or pseudo-random number generators, pay-tabledata or information and applicable game rules that relate to the play ofthe gaming machine. In one embodiment, the local memory device includesrandom access memory (RAM). In one embodiment, the local memory deviceincludes read only memory (ROM). In one embodiment, the local memorydevice includes flash memory and/or EEPROM (electrically erasableprogrammable read only memory).

In one embodiment, part or all of the program code and/or operating datadescribed above can be stored in a detachable or removable memorydevice, including, but not limited to, a suitable cartridge, disk or CDROM. A player can use such a removable memory device in a desktop, alaptop personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or othercomputerized platform. The processor and memory device may becollectively referred to herein as a “computer” or “controller.” In oneembodiment, the gaming device or gaming machine disclosed herein isoperable over a wireless network, such as part of a wireless gamingsystem. In this embodiment, the gaming machine may be a hand helddevice, a mobile device or any other suitable wireless device thatenables a player to play any suitable game at a variety of differentlocations. It should be appreciated that a gaming device or gamingmachine as disclosed herein may be a device that has obtained approvalfrom a regulatory gaming commission or a device that has not obtainedapproval from a regulatory gaming commission.

In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, the gaming machines of thegaming system each include one or more display devices controlled by thegaming machine processor and/or the central server. The display devicesare preferably connected to or mounted to the cabinet of the gamingmachine. The embodiment shown in FIG. 2A includes a central displaydevice 16 which displays a primary game. This display device may alsodisplay any secondary game associated with the primary game as well asinformation relating to the primary or secondary game. The alternativeembodiment shown in FIG. 2B includes a central display device 16 and anupper display device 18. The upper display device may display theprimary game, any suitable secondary game associated with the primarygame and/or information relating to the primary or secondary game. Inanother embodiment, at least one display device may be a mobile displaydevice, such as a PDA or tablet PC, that enables play of at least aportion of the primary or secondary game at a location remote from thegaming machine. As seen in FIGS. 2A and 2B, in one embodiment, thegaming machine includes a credit display 20 which displays a player'scurrent number of credits, cash, account balance or the equivalent. Inone embodiment, gaming machine includes a bet display 22 which displaysa player's amount wagered.

The display devices may include, without limitation, a monitor, atelevision display, a plasma display, a liquid crystal display (LCD) adisplay based on light emitting diodes (LED), a display based on aplurality of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) or any other suitableelectronic device or display mechanism. In one embodiment, as describedin more detail below, the display device includes a touch-screen with anassociated touch-screen controller. The display devices may be of anysuitable configuration, such as a square, rectangle, elongatedrectangle. In another embodiment, one or more display device may be amovable display which includes information, such as information aboutall the game programs which may be played. In one embodiment, themovable display includes two rollers and a belt which frictionallyengages the rollers. The information regarding the different availablegames are on different sections of the belt, wherein the belt isconfigured such that each of such sections may be displayed sequentiallyto a player. In this embodiment, each section corresponds to a differentgame which may be played at the gaming machine. A drive roller which ispowered by a suitable motor coupled to the drive roller, rotates thebelt in a clockwise, counter-clockwise or any suitable combination ofdirections. The processor in the gaming machine (or the centralcontroller) controls the drive roller and causes the drive roller tomove to sequentially display one or more sections and thus displayinformation regarding one or more games played. It should be appreciatedthat any suitable display device may be employed to display suchinformation to a player.

In one embodiment, the gaming machine utilizes one or more of thedisplay devices to display information to the player regarding whichgame program is selected.

In one embodiment, the gaming machine utilizes one or more displaydevices to display information to the player regarding which gameprogram is selected. That is, each game program is associated withcertain information, such as which game program is being played, theapplicable paytable for the game being played, the instructions of howthe game is played or any other suitable information. In thisembodiment, the information associated with the selected game program isdisplayed to the player. For example, the gaming machine may utilize atleast one movable display to indicate information regarding which gameprogram is selected. It should be appreciated that any other suitableinformation, such as any other available game program(s), the paytablesapplicable for other game program(s), the instructions of how the othergame(s) are played or information relating to any primary game or anysecondary games, may also be displayed to the player using one or moredisplay devices.

The display devices of the gaming machines of the gaming system areconfigured to display at least one and preferably a plurality of game orother suitable images, symbols and indicia such as any visualrepresentation or exhibition of the movement of objects such asmechanical or video reels and wheels, dynamic lighting, video images,images of people, characters, places, things and faces of cards,tournament advertisements and the like.

In other embodiments, the symbols, images and indicia displayed on or ofthe display device may be in mechanical form. That is, the displaydevice may include any electromechanical device, such as one or moremechanical objects, such as one or more rotatable wheels, reels or dice,configured to display at least one and preferably a plurality of game orother suitable images, symbols or indicia.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, in one embodiment, the gaming machines of thegaming system each include at least one payment acceptor 24 incommunication with the gaming machine processor. As seen in FIGS. 2A and2B, the payment acceptor may include a coin slot 26 and a payment, noteor bill acceptor 28, where the player inserts money, coins or tokens.The player can place coins in the coin slot or paper money, ticket orvoucher into the payment, note or bill acceptor. In other embodiments,devices such as readers or validators for credit cards, debit cards orcredit slips may accept payment. In one embodiment, a player may insertan identification card into a card reader of the gaming machine. In oneembodiment, the identification card is a smart card having a programmedmicrochip or a magnetic strip coded with a player's identification,credit totals and other relevant information. In another embodiment, aplayer may carry a portable device, such as a cell phone, a radiofrequency identification tag or any other suitable wireless device,which communicates a player's identification, credit totals (or relateddata) and other relevant information to the gaming device. In oneembodiment, money may be transferred to a gaming machine throughelectronic funds transfer. When a player funds the gaming machine, thegaming machine processor determines the amount of funds entered anddisplays the corresponding amount on the credit or other suitabledisplay as described above.

As seen in FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3, in one embodiment the gaming machines ofthe gaming system each include at least one and preferably a pluralityof input devices 30 in communication with the gaming machine processorand/or the central server. The input devices can include any suitabledevice which enables the player to produce an input signal which is readby the gaming machine processor. In one embodiment, after appropriatefunding of the gaming machine, the input device is a game activationdevice, such as a pull arm 32 or a play button 34 which is used by theplayer to start any primary game or sequence of events in the gamingmachine. The play button can be any suitable play activator such as abet one button, a max bet button or a repeat the bet button. In oneembodiment, upon appropriate funding, the gaming machine begins the gameplay automatically. In another embodiment, upon the player engaging oneof the play buttons, the gaming machine automatically activates gameplay.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, one input device is abet one button 36. The player places a bet by pushing the bet onebutton. The player can increase the bet by one credit each time theplayer pushes the bet one button. When the player pushes the bet onebutton, the number of credits shown in the credit display preferablydecreases by one, and the number of credits shown in the bet displaypreferably increases by one. In another embodiment, one input device isa bet max button (not shown) which enables the player to bet the maximumwager permitted for a game of the gaming machine.

In one embodiment, one input device is a cash out button 38. The playermay push the cash out button and cash out to receive a cash payment orother suitable form of payment corresponding to the number of remainingcredits. In one embodiment, when the player cashes out, the playerreceives the coins or tokens in a coin payout tray 40. In oneembodiment, when the player cashes out, the player may receive otherpayout mechanisms such as tickets or credit slips redeemable by acashier or funding to the player's electronically recordableidentification card.

In one embodiment, as mentioned above and seen in FIG. 3, one inputdevice is a touch-screen 42 coupled with a touch-screen controller 44,or some other touch-sensitive display overlay to enable playerinteraction with the images on the display. The touch-screen and thetouch-screen controller are connected to a video controller 46. A playercan make decisions and input signals into the gaming machine by touchingthe touch-screen at the appropriate places. One such input device is atouch-screen button panel.

The gaming machines of the gaming system may each further include aplurality of communication ports for enabling communication of thegaming machine processor with external peripherals, such as externalvideo sources, expansion buses, game or other displays, an SCSI port ora key pad. In one embodiment, the player can use a keyboard at thegaming machine, or any other suitable input device, to input commands orinstructions and personal data to enter the tournament.

In one embodiment, as seen in FIG. 3, the gaming machines of the gamingsystem each include a sound generating device controlled by one or moresounds cards 48 which function in conjunction with the gaming machineprocessor. In one embodiment, the sound generating device includes atleast one and preferably a plurality of speakers 50 or other soundgenerating hardware and/or software for generating sounds, such asplaying music for the primary and/or secondary game or for other modesof the gaming machine, such as an attract mode. In one embodiment, thegaming machine provides dynamic sounds coupled with attractivemultimedia images displayed on one or more of the display devices toprovide an audio-visual representation or to otherwise displayfull-motion video with sound to attract players to the gaming machine.During idle periods, the gaming machine may display a sequence of audioand/or visual attraction messages to attract potential players to thegaming machine. The videos may also be customized for or to provide anyappropriate information.

In one embodiment, the gaming machines of the gaming system each includea sensor, such as a camera, in communication with the gaming machineprocessor (and possibly controlled by the gaming machine processor) thatis selectively positioned to acquire an image of a player actively usingthe gaming machine and/or the surrounding area of the gaming machine. Inone embodiment, the camera may be configured to selectively acquirestill or moving (e.g., video) images and may be configured to acquirethe images in either an analog, digital or other suitable format. Thedisplay devices may be configured to display the image acquired by thecamera as well as display the visible manifestation of the game in splitscreen or picture-in-picture fashion. For example, the camera mayacquire an image of the player and the gaming machine processor mayincorporate that image into the primary and/or secondary game as a gameimage, symbol or indicia.

In one embodiment, the gaming machines of the gaming system can eachincorporate any suitable primary or secondary game in addition to anytournament game. The gaming machine or device may include some or all ofthe features of conventional gaming machines or devices. The primary,game, the tournament game and/or the secondary game may comprise anysuitable reel-type game, card game, cascading or falling symbol game,number game or other game of chance susceptible to representation in anelectronic or electromechanical form which produces a random outcomebased on probability data upon activation from a wager. That is,different games, such as video poker games, video blackjack games, videoKeno, video bingo or any other suitable primary or secondary game may beimplemented.

In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, an executable gameprogram communicated to the gaming machine is a slot game with one ormore paylines 52. The paylines may be horizontal, vertical, circular,diagonal, angled or any combination thereof. In this embodiment, thegaming device includes at least one and preferably a plurality of reels54, such as three to five reels 54, in either electromechanical formwith mechanical rotating reels or video form with simulated reels andmovement thereof. In one embodiment, an electromechanical slot machineincludes a plurality of adjacent, rotatable reels which may be combinedand operably coupled with an electronic display of any suitable type. Inanother embodiment, if the reels 54 are in video form, one or more ofthe display devices, as described above, display the plurality ofsimulated video reels 54. Each reel 54 displays a plurality of indiciaor symbols, such as bells, hearts, fruits, numbers, letters, bars orother images which preferably correspond to a theme associated with thegaming device. In another embodiment, one or more of the reels areindependent reels or unisymbol reels. In this embodiment, eachindependent or unisymbol reel generates and displays one symbol to theplayer for the play of the game. In one embodiment, the gaming deviceawards prizes after the reels of the primary game stop spinning ifspecified types and/or configurations of indicia or symbols occur on anactive payline or otherwise occur in a winning pattern, occur on therequisite number of adjacent reels and/or occur in a scatter payarrangement.

In an alternative embodiment, rather than determining any outcome toprovide to the player by analyzing the symbols generated on any wageredupon paylines as described above, the gaming machine determines anyoutcome to provide to the player based on the number of associatedsymbols which are generated in active symbol positions on the requisitenumber of adjacent reels (i.e., not on paylines passing through anydisplayed winning symbol combinations). In this embodiment, if a winningsymbol combination is generated on the reels, the gaming machineprovides the player one award for that occurrence of the generatedwinning symbol combination. For example, if one winning symbolcombination is generated on the reels, the gaming machine will provide asingle award to the player for that winning symbol combination (i.e.,not based on paylines that would have passed through that winning symbolcombination). It should be appreciated that because a gaming machinewith wagering on ways to win provides the player one award for a singleoccurrence of a winning symbol combination and a gaming machine withpaylines may provide the player more than one award for the sameoccurrence of a single winning symbol combination (i.e., if a pluralityof paylines each pass through the same winning symbol combination), itis possible to provide a player at a ways to win gaming machine moreways to win for an equivalent bet or wager on a traditional slot gamingmachine with paylines.

In one embodiment, the total number of ways to win is determined bymultiplying the number of symbols generated in active symbol positionson a first reel by the number of symbols generated in active symbolpositions on a second reel by the number of symbols generated in activesymbol positions on a third reel and so on for each reel of the gamingmachine with at least one symbol generated in an active symbol position.For example, a three reel gaming machine with three symbols generated inactive symbol positions on each reel includes 27 ways to win (i.e., 3symbols on the first reel×3 symbols on the second reel×3 symbols on thethird reel). A four reel gaming machine with three symbols generated inactive symbol positions on each reel includes 81 ways to win (i.e., 3symbols on the first reel×3 symbols on the second reel×3 symbols on thethird reel×3 symbols on the fourth reel). A five reel gaming machinewith three symbols generated in active symbol positions on each reelincludes 243 ways to win (i.e., 3 symbols on the first reel×3 symbols onthe second reel×3 symbols on the third reel×3 symbols on the fourthreel×3 symbols on the fifth reel). It should be appreciated thatmodifying the number of generated symbols by either modifying the numberof reels or modifying the number of symbols generated in active symbolpositions by one or more of the reels, modifies the number of ways towin.

In another embodiment, the gaming machine enables a player to wager onand thus activate symbol positions. In one such embodiment, the symbolpositions are on the reels. In this embodiment, if based on the player'swager, a reel is activated, then each of the symbol positions of thatreel will be activated and each of the active symbol positions will bepart of one or more of the ways to win. In one embodiment, if based onthe player's wager, a reel is not activated, then a designated number ofdefault symbol positions, such as a single symbol position of the middlerow of the reel, will be activated and the default symbol position(s)will be part of one or more of the ways to win. This type of gamingmachine enables a player to wager on one, more or each of the reels andthe processor of the gaming machine uses the number of wagered on reelsto determine the active symbol positions and the number of possible waysto win. In alternative embodiments, (1) no symbols are displayed asgenerated at any of the inactive symbol positions, or (2) any symbolsgenerated at any inactive symbol positions may be displayed to theplayer but suitably shaded or otherwise designated as inactive.

In one embodiment wherein a player wagers on one or more reels, aplayer's wager of one credit may activate each of the three symbolpositions on a first reel, wherein one default symbol position isactivated on each of the remaining four reels. In this example, asdescribed above, the gaming machine provides the player three ways towin (i.e., 3 symbols on the first reel×1 symbol on the second reel×1symbol on the third reel×1 symbol on the fourth reel×1 symbol on thefifth reel). In another example, a player's wager of nine credits mayactivate each of the three symbol positions on a first reel, each of thethree symbol positions on a second reel and each of the three symbolpositions on a third reel wherein one default symbol position isactivated on each of the remaining two reels. In this example, asdescribed above, the gaming machine provides the player twenty-sevenways to win (i.e., 3 symbols on the first reel×3 symbols on the secondreel×3 symbols on the third reel×1 symbol on the fourth reel×1 symbol onthe fifth reel).

In one embodiment, to determine any award(s) to provide to the playerbased on the generated symbols, the gaming machine individuallydetermines if a symbol generated in an active symbol position on a firstreel forms part of a winning symbol combination with or is otherwisesuitably related to a symbol generated in an active symbol position on asecond reel. In this embodiment, the gaming machine classifies each pairof symbols which form part of a winning symbol combination (i.e., eachpair of related symbols) as a string of related symbols. For example, ifactive symbol positions include a first cherry symbol generated in thetop row of a first reel and a second cherry symbol generated in thebottom row of a second reel, the gaming machine classifies the twocherry symbols as a string of related symbols because the two cherrysymbols form part of a winning symbol combination.

After determining if any strings of related symbols are formed betweenthe symbols on the first reel and the symbols on the second reel, thegaming machine determines if any of the symbols from the next adjacentreel should be added to any of the formed strings of related symbols. Inthis embodiment, for a first of the classified strings of relatedsymbols, the gaming machine determines if any of the symbols generatedby the next adjacent reel form part of a winning symbol combination orare otherwise related to the symbols of the first string of relatedsymbols. If the gaming machine determines that a symbol generated on thenext adjacent reel is related to the symbols of the first string ofrelated symbols, that symbol is subsequently added to the first stringof related symbols. For example, if the first string of related symbolsis the string of related cherry symbols and a related cherry symbol isgenerated in the middle row of the third reel, the gaming machine addsthe related cherry symbol generated on the third reel to the previouslyclassified string of cherry symbols.

On the other hand, if the gaming machine determines that no symbolsgenerated on the next adjacent reel are related to the symbols of thefirst string of related symbols, the gaming machine marks or flags suchstring of related symbols as complete. For example, if the first stringof related symbols is the string of related cherry symbols and none ofthe symbols of the third reel are related to the cherry symbols of thepreviously classified string of cherry symbols, the gaming machine marksor flags the string of cherry symbols as complete.

After either adding a related symbol to the first string of relatedsymbols or marking the first string of related symbols as complete, thegaming machine proceeds as described above for each of the remainingclassified strings of related symbols which were previously classifiedor formed from related symbols on the first and second reels.

After analyzing each of the remaining strings of related symbols, thegaming machine determines, for each remaining pending or incompletestring of related symbols, if any of the symbols from the next adjacentreel, if any, should be added to any of the previously classifiedstrings of related symbols. This process continues until either eachstring of related symbols is complete or there are no more adjacentreels of symbols to analyze. In this embodiment, where there are no moreadjacent reels of symbols to analyze, the gaming machine marks each ofthe remaining pending strings of related symbols as complete.

When each of the strings of related symbols is marked complete, thegaming machine compares each of the strings of related symbols to anappropriate paytable and provides the player any award associated witheach of the completed strings of symbols. It should be appreciated thatthe player is provided one award, if any, for each string of relatedsymbols generated in active symbol positions (i.e., as opposed to beingbased on how many paylines that would have passed through each of thestrings of related symbols in active symbol positions).

In one embodiment, an executable game program communicated to the gamingmachine may be for a poker game wherein the gaming machine enables theplayer to play a conventional game of video draw poker and initiallydeals five cards all face up from a virtual deck of fifty-two card deck.Cards may be dealt as in a traditional game of cards or in the case ofthe gaming machine, may also include that the cards are randomlyselected from a predetermined number of cards. If the player wishes todraw, the player selects the cards to hold via one or more input device,such as pressing related hold buttons or via the touch screen. Theplayer then presses the deal button and the unwanted or discarded cardsare removed from the display and the gaming machine deals thereplacement cards from the remaining cards in the deck. This results ina final five-card hand. The gaming machine compares the final five-cardhand to a payout table which utilizes conventional poker hand rankingsto determine the winning hands. The gaming machine provides the playerwith an award based on a winning hand and the credits the playerwagered.

In another embodiment, an executable game program communicated to thegaming machine may be for a multi-hand version of video poker. In thisembodiment, the gaming machine deals the player at least two hands ofcards. In one such embodiment, the cards are the same cards. In oneembodiment each hand of cards is associated with its own deck of cards.The player chooses the cards to hold in a primary hand. The held cardsin the primary hand are also held in the other hands of cards. Theremaining non-held cards are removed from each hand displayed and foreach hand replacement cards are randomly dealt into that hand. Since thereplacement cards are randomly dealt independently for each hand, thereplacement cards for each hand will usually be different. The pokerhand rankings are then determined hand by hand and awards are providedto the player.

In another embodiment, an executable game program communicated to thegaming machine may be for a keno game wherein the gaming machinedisplays a plurality of selectable indicia or numbers on at least one ofthe display devices. In this embodiment, the player selects at least oneor a plurality of the selectable indicia or numbers via an input devicesuch as the touch screen. The gaming machine then displays a series ofdrawn numbers to determine an amount of matches, if any, between theplayer's selected numbers and the gaming machine's drawn numbers. Theplayer is provided an award based on the amount of matches, if any,based on the amount of determined matches.

In another embodiment, in addition to winning credits or other awards ina base or primary game, an executable game program communicated to thegaming machine may be for the opportunity to win credits in a bonus orsecondary game or bonus or secondary round. The bonus or secondary gameenables the player to obtain a prize or payout in addition to the prizeor payout, if any, obtained from the base or primary game. In general, abonus or secondary game produces a significantly higher level of playerexcitement than the base or primary game because it provides a greaterexpectation of winning than the base or primary game and is accompaniedwith more attractive or unusual features than the base or primary game.

In one embodiment, the bonus or secondary game may be any type ofsuitable game, either similar to or completely different from a base orprimary game or the tournament game(s). In one embodiment, the gamingmachine includes a program which will automatically begin a bonus roundafter the player has achieved a triggering event or qualifying conditionin the base or primary game. In one embodiment, the triggering event orqualifying condition may be a selected outcome in the primary game or aparticular arrangement of one or more indicia on a display device in theprimary game, such as the number seven appearing on three adjacent reelsalong a payline in the primary slot game embodiment seen in FIGS. 1A and1B. In other embodiments, the triggering event or qualifying conditionmay be by exceeding a certain amount of game play (such as number ofgames, number of credits, amount of time), or reaching a specifiednumber of points earned during game play.

In another embodiment, the gaming device processor or central serverrandomly provides the player one or more plays of one or more secondarygames. In one such embodiment, the gaming device does not provide anyapparent reasons to the player for qualifying to play a secondary orbonus game. In this embodiment, qualifying for a bonus game is nottriggered by an event in or based specifically on any of the plays ofany primary game. That is, the gaming device may simply qualify a playerto play a secondary game without any explanation or alternatively withsimple explanations. In another embodiment, the gaming device (orcentral server) qualifies a player for a secondary game at leastpartially based on a game triggered or symbol triggered event, such asat least partially based on the play of a primary game.

In one embodiment, the gaming device includes a program which willautomatically begin a bonus round after the player has achieved atriggering event or qualifying condition in the base or primary game. Inanother embodiment, after a player has qualified for a bonus game, theplayer may subsequently enhance his/her bonus game participation throughcontinued play on the base or primary game. Thus, for each bonusqualifying event, such as a bonus symbol, that the player obtains, agiven number of bonus game wagering points or credits may be accumulatedin a “bonus meter” programmed to accrue the bonus wagering credits orentries toward eventual participation in a bonus game. The occurrence ofmultiple such bonus qualifying events in the primary game may result inan arithmetic or exponential increase in the number of bonus wageringcredits awarded. In one embodiment, the player may redeem extra bonuswagering credits during the bonus game to extend play of the bonus game.

In one embodiment, no separate entry fee or buy in for a bonus game needbe employed. That is, a player may not purchase an entry into a bonusgame, rather they must win or earn entry through play of the primarygame thus, encouraging play of the primary game. In another embodiment,qualification of the bonus or secondary game is accomplished through asimple “buy in” by the player, for example, if the player has beenunsuccessful at qualifying through other specified activities. Inanother embodiment, the player must make a separate side-wager on thebonus game or wager a designated amount in the primary game to qualifyfor the secondary game. In this embodiment, the secondary gametriggering event must occur and the side-wager (or designated primarygame wager amount) must have been placed to trigger the secondary game.

In one embodiment, after receiving an appropriate game program toexecute, the gaming machine randomly generates awards and/or other gameoutcomes based on probability data. In this embodiment, each award orother game outcome is associated with a probability and the generatedaward or other game outcome is based on the associated probabilities. Itshould be appreciated that since the outcomes are randomly generated orgenerated based upon a probability calculation, there is no certaintythat the gaming machine will ever provide the player with any specificaward or other game outcome.

In one embodiment, the game outcome provided to the player is determinedby the central server or controller and provided to the player at thegaming machine. In this embodiment, upon a player initiating game playat one of the gaming machines, the initiated gaming machine communicatesa game outcome request to the central server or controller.

In one embodiment, the central server or controller receives the gameoutcome request and randomly generates a game outcome for the primarygame based on probability data. In another embodiment, the centralserver or controller randomly generates a game outcome for the secondarygame based on probability data. In another embodiment, the centralserver or controller randomly generates a game outcome for the primarygame and the secondary game and/or the tournament game(s) based onprobability data. In this embodiment, the central server or controlleris capable of storing and utilizing program code or other data similarto the processor and memory device of the gaming machine.

In an alternative embodiment, the central server or controller maintainsone or more predetermined pools or sets of predetermined game outcomes.In this embodiment, the central server or controller receives the gameoutcome request and independently selects a predetermined game outcomefrom a set or pool of game outcomes. The central server or controllerflags or marks the selected game outcome as used. Once a game outcome isflagged as used, it is prevented from further selection from the set orpool and cannot be selected by the central controller or server uponanother wager. The provided game outcome can include a primary gameoutcome, a secondary game outcome, primary and secondary game outcomes,or a series of game outcomes such a free game.

The central server or controller communicates the generated or selectedgame outcome to the initiated gaming machine. The gaming machinereceives the generated or selected game outcome and provides the gameoutcome to the player. In an alternative embodiment, how the generatedor selected game outcome is to be presented or displayed to the player,such as a reel symbol combination of a slot machine or a hand of cardsdealt in a card game, is also determined by the central server orcontroller and communicated to the initiated gaming machine to bepresented or displayed to the player. Central production or control canassist a gaming establishment or other entity in maintaining appropriaterecords, controlling gaming, reducing and preventing cheating orelectronic or other errors, reducing or eliminating win-loss volatilityand the like.

In another embodiment, a predetermined game outcome is determined foreach of a plurality of linked or networked gaming machines based on theresults of a bingo game. In this embodiment, each individual gamingmachine utilizes one or more bingo games to determine the predeterminedgame outcome provided to the player at that gaming machine. In oneembodiment, the bingo game is displayed to the player. In anotherembodiment, the bingo game is not displayed to the player, but theresults of the bingo game determine the predetermined game outcomeprovided to the player.

In the various bingo embodiments, as each gaming machine is enrolled inthe bingo game, such as upon an appropriate wager or engaging an inputdevice, the enrolled gaming machine is provided a different bingo card.Each bingo card consists of a matrix or array of elements, wherein eachelement is designated with a separate indicia, such as a number. Itshould be appreciated that each different bingo card includes adifferent combination of elements. For example, if four bingo cards areprovided to four enrolled gaming machines, the same element may bepresent on all four of the bingo cards while another element may solelybe present on one of the bingo cards.

In operation of these embodiments, upon providing a different bingo cardto each of a plurality of enrolled gaming machines, the centralcontroller randomly selects or draws, one at a time, a plurality of theelements. As each element is selected, each gaming machine determines ifthe selected element is present on the bingo card provided to thatenrolled gaming machine. If the selected element is present on the bingocard provided to that enrolled gaming machine, that gaming machine marksor flags the selected element on the provided bingo card. This processof selecting elements and marking any selected elements on the providedbingo cards continues until one or more predetermined patterns aremarked on one or more of the provided bingo cards. It should beappreciated that in one embodiment, the gaming machine requires theplayer to engage a “daub” button (not shown) to initiate the process ofthe gaming machine marking or flagging any selected elements.

After one or more predetermined patterns are marked on one or more ofthe provided bingo cards, a game outcome is determined for each of theenrolled gaming machines based, at least in part, on the selectedelements on the provided bingo cards. As described above, the gameoutcome each gaming machine determines for the bingo game is utilized bythat gaming machine to determine the predetermined game outcome providedto the player. For example, a first gaming machine to mark selectedelements in a predetermined pattern is provided a first outcome of win$10 which will be provided to a first player regardless of how the firstplayer plays in a first game and a second gaming machine to markselected elements in a different predetermined pattern is provided asecond outcome of win $2 which will be provided to a second playerregardless of how the second player plays a second game. It should beappreciated that as the process of marking selected elements continuesuntil one or more predetermined patterns are marked, this embodimentinsures that at least one bingo card will win the bingo game and thus atleast one enrolled gaming machine will provide a predetermined winninggame outcome to a player.

In one example of the above-described embodiment, the predetermined gameoutcome may be based on a supplemental award in addition to any awardprovided for winning the bingo game as described above. In thisembodiment, if one or more elements are marked in supplemental patternswithin a designated number of drawn elements, a supplemental orintermittent award or value associated with the marked supplementalpattern is provided to the player as part of the predetermined gameoutcome. For example, if the four corners of a bingo card are markedwithin the first twenty selected elements, a supplemental award of $10is provided to the player as part of the predetermined game outcome. Itshould be appreciated that in this embodiment, the player of a gamingmachine may be provided a supplemental or intermittent award regardlessof if the enrolled gaming machine's provided bingo card wins or does notwin the bingo game as described above. It should be further appreciatedthat other suitable methods for selecting or determining one or morepredetermined game outcomes may be employed.

In another embodiment, the central server also monitors the activity ofone, more or each of the gaming machines in communication with thecentral server or controller. In this embodiment, each individual gamingmachine randomly generates the game outcomes to be provided to theplayer and the central server or controller monitors the activities andevents occurring on the plurality of gaming machines. In one embodiment,the gaming network includes a real-time or on-line accounting and gaminginformation system operably coupled to the central server or controller.The accounting and gaming information system of this embodiment includesa player database for storing player profiles, a player tracking modulefor tracking players and a credit system for providing automated gamingestablishment transactions.

In another embodiment, a plurality of gaming machines at one, more oreach gaming sites may be networked to a central server in a progressiveconfiguration, as known in the art, wherein a portion of each wager toinitiate a base or primary game may be allocated to bonus or secondaryevent awards. In one embodiment, a host site computer is coupled to aplurality of the central servers at a variety of mutually remote gamingsites for providing a multi-site linked progressive automated gamingsystem. In one embodiment, a host site computer may serve gamingmachines distributed throughout a number of properties at differentgeographical locations including, for example, different locationswithin a city or different cities within a state.

In another embodiment, a plurality of gaming devices at one or moregaming sites are networked to the central server in a progressiveconfiguration, as known in the art, wherein a portion of each wager toinitiate a base or primary game may be allocated to one or moreprogressive awards. In one embodiment, a progressive gaming system hostsite computer is coupled to a plurality of the central servers at avariety of mutually remote gaming sites for providing a multi-sitelinked progressive automated gaming system. In one embodiment, aprogressive gaming system host site computer serves gaming devicesdistributed throughout a number of properties at different geographicallocations including, for example, different locations within a city ordifferent cities within a state.

In one embodiment, the progressive gaming system host site computer ismaintained for the overall operation and control of the progressivegaming system. In this embodiment, a progressive gaming system host sitecomputer oversees the entire progressive gaming system and is the masterfor computing all progressive jackpots. All participating gaming sitesreport to, and receive information from, the progressive gaming systemhost site computer. Each central server computer is responsible for alldata communication between the gaming device hardware and software andthe progressive gaming system host site computer. In one embodiment, anindividual gaming machine triggers a progressive award win. In anotherembodiment, a central server (or the progressive gaming system host sitecomputer) determines when a progressive award win is triggered. Inanother embodiment, an individual gaming machine and a centralcontroller (or progressive gaming system host site computer) work inconjunction with each other to determine when a progressive win istriggered; for example, through an individual gaming machine meeting apredetermined requirement established by the central controller.

In one embodiment, a progressive award win is triggered based on one ormore game play events, such as a symbol-driven trigger. In otherembodiments, the progressive award triggering event or qualifyingcondition is by exceeding a certain amount of game play (such as numberof games, number of credits, or amount of time), or reaching a specifiednumber of points earned during game play. In another embodiment, agaming device is randomly or apparently randomly selected to provide aplayer of that gaming device one or more progressive awards. In one suchembodiment, the gaming device does not provide any apparent reasons tothe player for winning a progressive award, wherein winning theprogressive award is not triggered by an event in or based specificallyon any of the plays of any primary game. That is, a player is provided aprogressive award without any explanation or alternatively with simpleexplanations. In another embodiment, a player is provided a progressiveaward at least partially based on a game triggered or symbol triggeredevent, such as at least partially based on the play of a primary game.

In one embodiment, one or more of the progressive awards are each fundedvia a side bet or side wager. In this embodiment, a player must place orwager a side bet to be eligible to win the progressive award associatedwith the side bet. In one embodiment, the player must place the maximumbet and the side bet to be eligible to win one of the progressiveawards. In another embodiment, if the player places or wagers therequired side bet, the player may wager at any suitable credit amountduring the primary game (i.e., the player need not place the maximum betand the side bet to be eligible to win one of the progressive awards).In one such embodiment, the greater the player's wager (in addition tothe placed side bet), the greater the odds or probability that theplayer will win one of the progressive awards. It should be appreciatedthat one or more of the progressive awards may each be funded, at leastin part, based on the wagers placed on the primary games of the gamingmachines in the gaming system, via a gaming establishment or via anysuitable manner.

In another embodiment, one or more of the progressive awards arepartially funded via a side-bet or side-wager which the player may make(and which may be tracked via a side-bet meter). In one embodiment, oneor more of the progressive awards are funded with only side-bets orside-wagers placed. In another embodiment, one or more of theprogressive awards are funded based on player's wagers as describedabove as well as any side-bets or side-wagers placed.

In one alternative embodiment, a minimum wager level is required for agaming device to qualify to be selected to obtain one of the progressiveawards. In one embodiment, this minimum wager level is the maximum wagerlevel for the primary game in the gaming machine. In another embodiment,no minimum wager level is required for a gaming machine to qualify to beselected to obtain one of the progressive awards.

In another embodiment, a plurality of players at a plurality of linkedgaming devices in a gaming system participate in a group gamingenvironment. In one embodiment, a plurality of players at a plurality oflinked gaming devices work in conjunction with one another, such asplaying together as a team or group, to win one or more awards. In onesuch embodiment, any award won by the group is shared, either equally orbased on any suitable criteria, amongst the different players of thegroup. In another embodiment, a plurality of players at a plurality oflinked gaming devices compete against one another for one or moreawards. In one such embodiment, a plurality of players at a plurality oflinked gaming devices participate in a gaming tournament for one or moreawards. In another embodiment, a plurality of players at a plurality oflinked gaming devices play for one or more awards wherein an outcomegenerated by one gaming device affects the outcomes generated by one ormore linked gaming devices.

In one embodiment, the central controller, central server or remote hostis operable to communicate a plurality of different commands,instructions or other communications to a plurality of gaming machinesto provide non-tournament game play and to provide tournament game playon the same gaming machines or devices, thus serving as a tournamentmanager in the gaming system.

Additionally, in one embodiment, the gaming system is integrated withone or more player tracking systems. In this embodiment, the gamingsystem and/or player tracking system is operable to track anyparticipating player's gaming activity at each gaming machines of thegaming system that the player plays. In one such embodiment, the gamingsystem and/or the associated player tracking system timely tracks when aplayer inserts their playing tracking card to begin a gaming session andalso timely tracks when a player removes their player tracking card orcashes out when concluding play for that gaming session. That is, in oneembodiment, the gaming system, the individual gaming machine and/or theassociated player tracking system tracks card-in/card-out for eachgaming session. In one embodiment, the gaming system and/or theassociated player tracking system provides safeguards against a missedcard-out (such as via a “card-in heartbeat” which messages the playertracking system in designated intervals to ensure the player is stillplaying). In different embodiments, the gaming system works inaccordance with the player tracking system to maintain data aboutplayers including, but not limited to: the player's account number, aplayer's identification number, the player's card number, the player'sfirst name, the player's surname, the player's preferred name, theplayer's player tracking ranking, any promotion status associated withthe player's player tracking card, tournament information, informationabout the player used for statistical analysis, the player's address,the player's birthday, the player's anniversary, the player's recentgaming sessions, or any other data deemed suitable by the gamingestablishment operator.

In other embodiments, rather than requiring a player to insert a playertracking card or enter identifying information, the gaming deviceutilizes one or more portable devices carried by a player, such as acell phone, email communication device, a radio frequency identificationtag or any other suitable wireless device to track when a player beginsand ends a gaming session. In other embodiments, the gaming deviceutilizes any suitable biometric technology or ticket technology to trackwhen a player begins and ends a gaming session.

Each of these player tracking data may be used for any purpose innon-tournament game play and in tournament game play. For example,player tracking data may be used to determine qualification for thetournament. The player tracking data may also be used to determine whois likely to accept a tournament invitation and come to the tournament.

In one embodiment, prior to tournament game play, the tournament must beconfigured. The gaming system is operable to be configured in aplurality of methods. However, it should be appreciated that differentembodiments of this gaming system may include any single suitableconfiguration method or any combination of suitable configurationmethods.

The gaming system is operable to upload one or more pre-configuredtournament game programs. That is, a distributor, such as a gamingmachine distributor, manufactures and sells a plurality of differentpre-configured tournament game programs. The gaming system is operableto upload one of the pre-configured game programs to the centralcontroller and to cause the play of the programmed game tournament.

The gaming system is operable to upload a pre-configured game programthat is operable to be modified or customized. That is, a distributor,such as a gaming machine distributor, manufactures and sells a pluralityof different pre-configured tournament game programs. A gamingestablishment may purchase one or a plurality of these pre-configuredgame programs and upload these game programs to the central server.However, one or a plurality of tournament parameters of these gameprograms are customizable. Therefore, if the gaming establishmentoperator wants to change a parameter of the tournament, for example, thetheme of the tournament, the pre-configured tournament game programsenable the gaming establishment operator to customize the tournament inone or a plurality of ways. That is, the gaming establishment operatorinputs one or more configuration guidelines that control one or moreelements of the tournament.

The configuration guidelines may be used to define the actual game playor structure of the tournament. Additionally, the configuration may beused to customize a tournament for advertising purposes. For example,the gaming establishment operator can include the name of the gamingestablishment and a name for the tournament in the customizationprocess. The tournament may be customized to have a certain theme.

The theme and title of the tournament may reflect the advertising of oneor more tournament sponsors. For example, if Company A is a vehiclecompany that sponsors the tournament, the prizes from the tournament maybe vehicles from Company A and the tournament may include advertisingand promotion for Company A.

The customization of the tournament enables the gaming establishment topursue any suitable advertisements. For example, during a tournament,the gaming establishment may promote the next tournament to increaseplayer awareness and participation in the next tournament. Thetournament may be used for other gaming establishment and hotelpromotion, such as advertisements for the restaurant in the gamingestablishment or shops in the hotel. Additionally, the gamingestablishment may run advertisements for other, non-affiliatedcorporations during the tournament.

In one embodiment, after one of the pre-configured modifiable tournamentgame programs is uploaded in the gaming system, the gaming systemprovides menu choices displayed on a display device linked to thecentral controller to enable the gaming establishment operator to easilyinput one or a plurality of the tournament parameters. The ability forthe gaming establishment operator to configure the tournament isbeneficial for creating customized tournaments. That is, such aconfiguration enables the gaming establishment to create, edit, andmodify tournaments based on their specific needs.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate example screen shots from one of thecustomizable game programs. As illustrated in FIG. 4, certain elementsof the tournament are customizable. That is, the game program mayinclude a default tournament name. However, the gaming establishmentoperator may change that parameter of the tournament as illustrated inFIG. 4. It should be appreciated that this type of input screen may beused to modify any customizable tournament parameter.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, in one embodiment, the pre-configuredtournament game program enables the gaming establishment operator toconfigure certain elements of the tournament, such as the tournamentschedule. FIG. 5 illustrates scheduling parameters of a multi-roundsynchronized tournament configuration. The gaming system enables thegaming establishment operator to determine the number of sessions foreach round of the synchronized tournament. The gaming system enables thegaming establishment operator to schedule a date and time for eachsession of each round of the synchronized tournament.

In one example of customization of a tournament gaming system, thegaming system enables a gaming establishment operator to retrieve orpull up one or more configurable tournament game programs via thecentral server. For example, if the gaming establishment operator wantsto create a new tournament, the gaming system enables the gamingestablishment operator to enter information pertinent to the tournament,such as a tournament name, a tournament description, location, startdate, end date, start time, end time, prize information, tournamentformat, or any other desired information. The game program furtherenables the gaming establishment operator to enter or input informationto further customize the tournament (such as the number of rounds,rounds allowed per day, the time between different sessions, playerqualification information, maximum number of players, machineinformation, maximum number of machines, buy-in information, number ofwinners, length of tournament, paytable, advertising and themeinformation or any other desired information). The gaming establishmentoperator can also further integrate the tournament with the sign managerand messaging system, gaming machines, kiosks, or other devices toadvertise the tournament. For example, upon tournament configurationcompletion, the gaming establishment operator may choose to advertisethe tournament on display devices through-out the gaming establishmentvia the sign manager, which is a system that integrates the displaydevices of the gaming system. The gaming establishment operator may useinformation from the player tracking system to contact, such as byemail, all of the players of the last three tournaments to advertise thenewly configured tournament. It should be appreciated that upontournament configuration, the gaming establishment may advertise thetournament in any suitable manner.

This customization functionality provides the gaming establishment withmaximum flexibility to create tournaments almost instantaneously, modifyparameters of the tournament, advertise the created tournament, andeasily customize the tournament to meet the gaming establishment'scurrent needs.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are example screen shots of how the tournament can beconfigured. However, the tournament may be configured in any suitablemanner.

Additionally, the gaming system is operable for the gaming establishmentoperator to completely customize an entire tournament. That is, thegaming system is operable for the gaming establishment operator toconfigure every aspect of a tournament to create a new and uniquetournament based on one or more gaming establishment operator selectabletournament configurations or tournament elements.

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of the method of configuration of atournament of the present disclosure. The gaming system makes thedecisions of how to run the tournament based on information input intothe gaming system via uploading a game program and/or via input from agaming establishment operator.

As illustrated in block 100, one of the tournament parameters is thetype of tournament to play. It should be appreciated that the tournamentmay be any suitable type of tournament, such as an invited guesttournament, an automatic tournament or an on-demand tournament. Theinvited guest tournament is a tournament that has a predetermined listof players that may play in the tournament. Only players on the guestlist may play in the tournament but in some embodiments, players mayquickly be added to the guest list. In this embodiment, the guest listis uploaded into the gaming system or manually entered into the gamingsystem. For an automatic bonus tournament, any number of players mayplay the automatic tournament upon meeting certain eligibility orqualification requirements, which are further discussed below. In anon-demand tournament, a player may request to play in a tournament. Thatis, a player may request to play in a tournament.

The gaming system determines whether the tournament will be manuallystarted by a gaming establishment operator or if the gaming system willautomatically start the tournament. In one embodiment, the centralcontroller is operable to send a signal to each participating gamingmachine to automatically start and end the gaming tournament. In anotherembodiment, the start and end times of the tournament are encoded intothe game program downloaded by each of the participating gaming machinesand each of these gaming machines execute the game program at theencoded times.

In one embodiment, the gaming system determines what type of sessionsand rounds the tournament will include. In a synchronized tournament aplurality of players each play the tournament at the same time,frequently in a relatively same location. If there are more players fora round than the number of designated gaming machines, that round of atournament is played in multiple sessions, with a certain number ofplayers simultaneously playing each session. For example, if threehundred players are participating in a round of the synchronizedtournament and the tournament includes 100 gaming machines, thetournament must include three sessions of the tournament for each round(300/100) to enable each participating player to participate in theround. Therefore, 100 players will simultaneously participate in thegaming tournament during each session. In one embodiment, the gamingsystem has appropriate checks to make sure a player is not allowed toplay more than one session per round.

In another embodiment, the tournament is a self-scheduled tournament.The self-scheduled tournament includes a plurality of playersparticipating in a round of a tournament according to the tournamentparameters that determine a time to play the tournament within a rangeof designated times. That is, a player can individually participate inthe tournament at a different time than the other players. If atournament has more than one round, the gaming system may provide theparticipating players with a certain date/time to complete each of therounds. The self-scheduled tournament provides players the flexibilityof deciding when to play the tournament and what gaming machine to playthe tournament on. In one embodiment, each round includes a plurality ofdifferent sessions. In one embodiment, each of the sessions are atdifferent times which enable players more flexibility in playing thetournament.

In one embodiment, the central controller, one or more gaming machinesand/or other devices stores each of the scores of each game played inthe tournament. For example, the central controller stores each score ofeach tournament game for each player. In another embodiment, eachplayer's player tracking account or player tracking card stores thatplayer's score for one, a plurality or each game played by that playeror the player's round scores. In another embodiment, the gaming systemonly stores the scores of a certain number of players. For example, thetop five ranked players. In another embodiment, the gaming system onlystores a total score or a round score for some or all of the players. Itshould be appreciated that the gaming system may store any suitabletournament scores or ranks in any suitable manner.

In another embodiment, the tournament is a bonus tournament. The bonustournament is immediately provided to the player as an award in aprimary game and/or as an award in a bonus game. In one embodiment, thebonus tournament automatically begins. That is, when the player wins thetournament, that gaming machine requires the player to immediately playthe tournament. The gaming system then determines the winner based onall of the players that played the bonus tournament in a certain timeperiod, such as a 48 hour time period.

In another embodiment, the tournament is a second type of bonustournament. The bonus tournament is provided to the player as an awardin a primary game and/or as an award in a bonus game. The bonustournament does not automatically begin, but is stored for later entryinto a tournament. At a later time, the player can use the entry to playin the tournament and compete with others in any given tournament mode.

As illustrated in block 102, the gaming system determines thequalifications for the player to play in the tournament. It should beappreciated that any suitable qualifier or qualification or combinationof qualifications may be employed to determine eligibility fortournament play. FIG. 7 includes a table that illustrates a plurality ofpossible player entry qualifications for a tournament.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, in certain types of tournaments, a method orcharacteristic of a player's game play qualifies the player fortournament entry. In one embodiment, the amount a player wagersdetermines whether the player is qualified for the tournament. The wagerqualification amount may be measured in any suitable manner.

In certain types of tournaments, the wager qualification amount isdetermined by the amount a player wagers (i.e., a player's coin-in orwagers in) on a single gaming machine during uninterrupted game play. Inanother embodiment, the wager qualification amount is determined by theamount the player wagers at any linked gaming machine in an allottedtime period, such as 24 hours. In another embodiment, the wagerqualification amount is determined by the amount wagered on particulargaming machines or at particular gaming establishments. In anotherembodiment, the tournament qualifier is based on the average wager perspin of the reels or play of the game.

In one embodiment, the amount a player wins determines whether theplayer qualifies for the tournament entry. The qualification win amountmay be measured in any suitable manner. In one type of tournament, thequalification win amount is determined by the amount a player wins on asingle gaming machine during uninterrupted game play. In anotherembodiment, the qualification win amount is determined by the amount theplayer wins in an allotted time period, such as 24 hours. In anotherembodiment, the qualification win amount is determined by the amount theplayer wins at a certain type of game for a certain amount of time, suchas the amount in slot games over a week.

In one embodiment, the amount of jackpot awards won by a player orwinning a particular jackpot award determines whether the playerqualifies for the tournament entry. In one embodiment, winning adesignated jackpot qualifies the player for tournament entry. In anothertype of tournament, winning a certain amount from one or more jackpotsqualifies the player for tournament entry. It should be appreciated thata jackpot qualifier may be determined in any suitable manner.

In one embodiment, the total amount lost by a player over a certain timeperiod determines whether the player qualifies for the tournament entry.In one embodiment, losing a designated amount qualifies the player fortournament entry. In another type of tournament, losing a certain numberof spins in a row qualifies the player for tournament entry. Thiscreates a type of “loser's tournament” and provides players incentive tocontinue playing after hitting a period of bad luck. It should beappreciated that a tournament qualifier may be determined in anysuitable manner.

In various types of tournaments, certain or designated games qualify theplayer for entry into the tournament. In one embodiment, achieving acertain game score qualifies the player for tournament entry. In anotherembodiment, playing a game for a certain amount of time qualifies theplayer for tournament entry. In one embodiment, the gaming systemprovides the player a tournament entry as a bonus. In anotherembodiment, a player may win a tournament qualifier in a bonus game.That is, a player wins tournament qualification based on the outcome ofa triggered bonus or secondary game. In another embodiment, the gamingsystem provides the player a tournament entry fee as an award in aprimary or bonus game. That is, a player may win a free entry into atournament as an award in a game. In one such embodiment, the entry feeaward is only available to players that have previously qualified for atournament. In another embodiment, a player may win the tournament entryfee when they are not qualified for a tournament but may then attempt toeither win tournament qualification or play a tournament not requiringtournament qualification, such as an on-demand tournament. It should beappreciated that the gaming system may determine tournamentqualification based on any element or combinations of elements in anygame.

In certain tournaments, the gaming system determines a designated timeperiod that a player can qualify for the tournament. For example, thegaming system may determine a certain day for tournament qualificationwhich may be advertised to players. In one embodiment, the gaming systemdetermines particular days and/or time periods in certain days where oneor more of the player qualifications count or accrue for player entryinto a tournament.

In one embodiment, the qualifier is determined based on one or morecharacteristics from a player tracking system or account. For example,all players of a certain rank or level may qualify for tournament entry.In another embodiment, all new members to a player tracking system orgaming establishment receive an automatic tournament entry. In anotherembodiment, upon a player's birthday, the gaming system provides theplayer a tournament entry. In another embodiment, upon a player'sanniversary in the player system, the gaming system provides the playera tournament entry. In one embodiment, a player tracking system includespoint intervals and each time a player reaches a point interval, theplayer receives entry into a tournament.

In another embodiment, qualification for a tournament is based on ascore or win in a previous tournament. That is, a player may win entryinto a tournament from previous tournament play.

In one embodiment, the gaming system determines when the tournament willbe available to a player. For example, upon tournament qualification,the gaming system may enable the player to immediately play atournament, participate in a tournament a certain number of hours afterqualifying for the tournament or participate in a scheduled tournament.

As illustrated in block 104, the gaming system determines the date ordates of the tournament. The gaming system determines the start date andend date of the tournament. In order to determine the dates of thetournament, the gaming system determines the number of rounds of thetournament. If the tournament is a synchronized tournament, the gamingsystem determines a date and time for each round of the tournament.Additionally, if the tournament is a synchronized tournament, the gamingsystem determines a maximum number of sessions a round may have. Ifthere are multiple sessions, the gaming system determines a time anddate for each session of each round. If the tournament is aself-scheduled tournament, the gaming system determines certain days andtimes that the players may play the tournament rounds.

As illustrated in block 106 of FIG. 6, the gaming system determinesmaximum number of players for the tournament. When the maximum number ofplayers either register for the tournament or accept the offer for thetournament, the tournament closes. The gaming system determines themaximum number of gaming machines to participate in the tournament orwhich gaming machines will participate in the tournament.

In certain tournaments, the gaming system determines the entry fee ofthe tournament for the player. In one embodiment, the gaming systemrequires the player to pay a certain amount of money or credits to enterthe tournament. It should be appreciated that the entry fee may be anysuitable form of payment. In one embodiment, the gaming system requiresthe player to pay a certain amount of promotional credits which aregaming establishment funded wagering credits to enter the tournament. Inone embodiment, these promotional credits are automatically credited toa player account and that player may use the promotional credits for anypurpose that the player account may be used for. In another embodiment,the gaming system requires the player to pay a certain amount ofcoupons, which are redeemable and offered to the general public to enterthe tournament. For example, in the hotel affiliated with the gamingestablishment, players receive coupons to enter the tournament. Inanother embodiment, the gaming system requires the player to pay acertain amount of gift certificates to enter the tournament. In anotherembodiment, the gaming system requires the player to pay a certainamount in vouchers to enter the tournament. Vouchers are a more secureform of credit than coupons that gaming machines accept. In anotherembodiment, a player may use player tracking points to enter atournament instead of paying a fee to enter the tournament. In oneembodiment, player tracking points are they only way to enter atournament. It should be appreciated that the player may pay the entryfee for the tournament at one of the gaming machines directly prior tothe tournament, for example, by using a credit card.

In another embodiment, the player is not required to pay an entry fee.

It should be appreciated that the gaming system may implement any buy inor entry fee for the tournament in any suitable manner. It should alsobe appreciated that in one embodiment, some players must pay an entryfee but other players do not. In one embodiment, the amount of thetournament entry fee is based on the player's rank in a player trackingsystem. For example, a player of a platinum rank in a player trackingsystem does not have to pay an entry fee and a player of a gold rankmust use 50 player points to enroll in the tournament.

In one embodiment, the entry fee for the tournament may change over timebased on tournament enrollment. For example, when the gaming systemopens up a tournament for registration, the entry fee is $50. If thetournament is not half full within a week, the gaming system lowers theentry fee to $40.

In one embodiment, the entry fee or buy in is not required to pay inadvance of the tournament. Rather, the fee is automatically deductedfrom the player's account upon the play of the tournament. In oneembodiment, this automated buy in is an option that a player may selectwhen registering for the tournament.

In one embodiment, the player is not required to make a separate buy-inor pay an entry fee to play the tournament. In one such embodiment, theplayer's account has a separate account used for the buy-in oftournaments. In one such embodiment, a certain percentage, such as 1%,of all credits wagered by a player or coin-in for a certain time periodis dedicated to this tournament credit account. For example, if the timeperiod is a year and the player wagers $5000 over the year, the playerwill have a $50 tournament credit account. In one such embodiment, thebuy in for the tournament is deducted from this tournament creditaccount. For example, if the entry cost to the tournament is $25, thatamount is automatically deducted from the tournament credit account uponregistration. In another embodiment, the amount in the tournamentaccount affects the player's qualification for the tournament. Forexample, only if the player has $100 or more in the tournament creditaccount is the player eligible to play in the tournament.

It should be appreciated that the qualifications and entry fees of thetournament may be based any suitable elements and may be configured inany suitable manner.

As illustrated in block 108 of FIG. 6, the gaming system determines thenumber of winners and the prizes to award each winner. It should beappreciated that the prizes for the tournament may be any suitable prizeincluding but not limited to cash, a physical prize, such as a car ordifferent type of prize, such as a vacation or a free night at thegaming establishment's hotel. In another embodiment, the prize or theaward for the tournament is not disclosed to the players. That is, theprizes are a mystery to the players. In one embodiment, the top prize ofthe tournament is a mystery. In another embodiment, the tournamentincludes a mystery secondary prize. In another embodiment, a player maywin player tracking points. In another embodiment, the gaming systemprovides gaming establishment money to a player. That is, the playerreceives a certain amount of money that may only be spent at the gamingestablishment or at affiliates of the gaming establishment. In oneembodiment, instead of cash, the prize is a gift certificate for acertain amount of money to be played at the gaming establishment hostingthe tournament. In one embodiment, the player may use the gamingestablishment money at other venues, such as hotels and restaurants,affiliated with the hosting gaming establishment.

In one embodiment, an award for a tournament is a game function orenhancement that may be saved and used in non-tournament games. Forexample, in an instant tournament, the players may win a multiplier toapply to a designated number of non-tournament games. It should beappreciated that the gaming system may provide any tournament player anaward of a non-tournament game function in any suitable tournament. Inone embodiment, the gaming system requires the player to immediately usethe game function after the tournament. In another embodiment, the gamefunction is stored in the gaming system or in a player account. Theplayer may make an input to use or apply the game function at a laterdate for any suitable non-tournament game. In another embodiment, thegaming system requires the player to use the game function at a laterdate, requiring a return visit from the player. In another embodiment,the gaming system requires the player to use the game function on acertain date, requiring a return visit from the player. For example, thegaming system provides the player 10 free games that must be redeemedthe day after winning the free games.

In one embodiment, each session and/or round includes prizes for theplayers; therefore the tournament includes multiple award levels. Thatis, an award or a prize is awarded to other players in addition to theoverall tournament winner. In one embodiment, the tournament is asynchronized group tournament which includes multiple rounds andmultiple sessions for each round. In one embodiment, the tournamentprovides awards for each session and each round. That is, for eachsession, one or more players receive an award based on the sessionscore. Each session can thus be viewed as a sub-tournament of the largertournament. In another embodiment, the gaming system provides a prizefor each round winner. In another embodiment, the player with the lowestscore receives a prize, such as an entry into another tournament.

In one embodiment, the tournament is funded by wagers placed for acertain time period. For example, a percentage of the wagers at aplurality of designated gaming machines fund a tournament pool thatprovides the prize for the tournament. In one such embodiment, thegaming system messages the current tournament award levels to theplayers. For example, a large sign displays the tournament jackpot andchanges as more money is added to the tournament jackpot.

As illustrated in FIG. 6 at block 110, the gaming system determines thepayout table for the tournament game. In one embodiment, the paytable isthe same for each player. In another embodiment, the paytable may bedifferent for players. For example, in a live money embodiment, ifplayers are wagering on gaming machines of different denominations, thepaytables may be different. The paytables may be different for playersfor any suitable reason, such as but not limited to, player trackingstatus, player tracking points, time of tournament entry, for a bonuswon in a primary or bonus game, or any other suitable reason.Additionally, the gaming system determines any applicable bonus modesfor the games of the tournament system.

The gaming system determines the method of scoring for the tournament asillustrated in FIG. 6 at block 112. Any appropriate scoring method maybe used to determine the outcome of the tournament. In one embodiment,the gaming system determines if the tournament is based on points orcredits. In one embodiment, the gaming system determines a tournamentscore for each participating player based on the score of each gameplayed by the player in the tournament. In another embodiment, thegaming system determines a tournament score for each participatingplayer based on the best game score for each round. In anotherembodiment, the gaming system determines a tournament score for eachparticipating player based on a certain number of game scores, such asthe top three game scores for the entire tournament. In anotherembodiment, one or more scores of a round qualify the players for afinal round. In one such embodiment, the winner of the final round winsthe tournament.

It should be appreciated that the gaming system may display or providethe players points or non-redeemable credits in any suitable mannerduring the tournament. The gaming system may include predeterminedpaytables or enable a gaming establishment operator to customize thepaytables. In one embodiment, the gaming system enables the gamingestablishment operator to determine the awards associated with thewinning tournament game outcomes. In one embodiment, the gaming systemenables the gaming establishment operator to determine the probabilitiesof the gaming machines and/or the central controller generating each ofthe winning game outcomes. In one embodiment, the tournament gameoutcomes, the awards associated with the tournament game outcomes and/orthe probabilities of generating the tournament game outcomes remainconstant throughout the tournament. That is, the gaming system sends atournament game program to each participating gaming machine. Thetournament game program includes or is associated with a paytable whichincludes a plurality of tournament game outcomes, probabilities ofgenerating the tournament game outcomes and awards associated with thetournament game outcomes. In one embodiment, the paytable does notchange through-out the tournament.

In another embodiment, one or more tournament game outcomes, the awardsassociated with one or more tournament game outcomes and/or theprobabilities of generating one or more tournament game outcomes areconfigured to change one or more times throughout the tournament. Thatis, in one embodiment the gaming system employs a first tournament gameprogram for a part of the tournament and a second tournament gameprogram for another part of the tournament to change the odds ofgenerating one or more tournament game outcomes, the awards associatedwith one or more tournament game outcomes and/or the probabilities ofgenerating one or more tournament game outcomes.

In one embodiment, the gaming system changes a percentage of thattournament game outcome being generated by changing the symbols of oneor more reels of a gaming machine and/or changing the percentageassociated with one or more symbols of one or more reels of one or moregaming machine. For example, in a slot game, the gaming system may useany suitable virtual reel mapping to add a symbol of one of the winningsymbol combinations to the reels, increasing the chance that the symbolwill be generated or to remove a symbol that is not part of a winningsymbol combination to increase the chance of generating a winning symbolcombination.

More specifically, in one embodiment, the gaming system changes one or aprobabilities of generating a tournament game outcome in one or moretournament game programs using any suitable virtual reel strips or anysuitable virtual mapping. In one embodiment, the gaming system weightsmodifies or changes one or more virtual reel strips to change theprobabilities of generating one or more tournament game outcomes. In onesuch embodiment, a first tournament program is different from a secondtournament program based on the modification of one or more virtual reelstrips including a number of stops or positions.

In one such embodiment, each of the gaming machines includes one or moresymbol generators. Each of the symbol generators includes a number ofstop positions or symbol positions. One or a plurality of numbers areassigned to each stop position for each of the symbol generators of eachgaming machine. For each tournament game played, the gaming systemrandomly selects a number for each of the symbol generators of thatgame. In one embodiment, the numbers are entered into a random numbergenerator. A random number generator selects a number for each of thesymbol generators for each tournament game. The gaming system stops thesymbol generator at the stop position associated with the selectednumber. For each symbol generator, each number may be entered one ormore times to control the odds of each of the stop positions beingselected. Thus, it should be appreciated that the odds of generating adesignated tournament game outcome or a tournament game outcomeassociated with a designated award on one or more gaming machines maythus change based on the programming of the virtual reel strip withoutchanging the physical appearance of any of the symbol generators. Itshould be appreciated that the gaming system may change theprobabilities of generating a tournament game outcome in any suitablemanner.

In one embodiment, the gaming system sends a tournament game program toeach participating gaming machine. The tournament game program includesor is associated with a paytable which includes a plurality oftournament game outcomes, probabilities of generating the tournamentgame outcomes and awards associated with the tournament game outcomes.In one such embodiment, the tournament game outcomes of the paytableinclude a winning game outcome that is associated with a maximum award,jackpot award or a large amount of points or credits. The tournament isconfigured such that at least one participating gaming machine of thetournament will generate the winning game outcome associated with thismaximum award during the tournament. The gaming system displays orotherwise indicates the maximum award to the player during thetournament and accumulates the awards associated with the game outcomesgenerated for that player. At the end of the tournament, the gamingsystem determines a tournament winner based on the overall tournamentscores or credits accumulated for each player.

As illustrated in FIG. 21, in one embodiment, the gaming systemassociates a game outcome with a jackpot award or a maximum award amountas illustrated in block 368. It should be appreciated that the gamingsystem may choose one or more designated winning game outcomes toassociate with a maximum award or a jackpot award. The gaming systemassociates a probability of being generated with the designated gameoutcome as illustrated in block 370. The gaming system determines orenables any other tournament configurations. The gaming system enablesthe players to play the tournament as illustrated in block 372. Thegaming system determines if the designated game outcome has beengenerated as illustrated in diamond 374. In one embodiment, each of thegaming machines send each generated game outcome and/or displayed awardto a central controller upon an occurrence of a triggering event orafter a play of a game. In another embodiment, the central controllerdetermines each generated game outcome and/or award and thereforecontinually stores the game information. If the designated game outcomehas been generated, at the termination of the tournament, the gamingsystem automatically determines the tournament scores and the tournamentwinner as illustrated in block 378. If the designated game outcome hasnot been generated, the gaming system associates another higherprobability with the designated game outcome as illustrated in block376. It should be appreciated that the gaming system may associateanother higher probability with the designated game outcome based on anysuitable factor. In one embodiment, upon a triggering event, the gamingsystem associates another higher probability with the designated gameoutcome. The gaming system continually evaluates the generated gameoutcomes of the tournament to determine if the designated game outcomehas been generated as illustrated in diamond 380. If the designated gameoutcome has not been generated, the gaming system associates anotherhigher probability with the designated game outcome as illustrated inblock 376. In one embodiment, once the designated game outcome has beengenerated, the gaming machine sends a signal to the central controllerthat the designated game outcome has been generated. In one embodiment,once the designated game outcome has been generated, the gaming systemdoes not associate any more probabilities with that designated gameoutcome. In another embodiment, once the designated game outcome hasbeen generated, the gaming system associates a new lower probability ofbeing generated with the designated game outcome. In one suchembodiment, the gaming system associates a probability of zero with thedesignated game outcome. That is, in one embodiment, the designated gameoutcome is only generated once during the tournament. In anotherembodiment, upon generation of the designated game outcome, the gamingsystem associates a new award with the designated game outcome such thatonly one player may achieve the jackpot award or maximum award. Inanother embodiment, during a tournament, the gaming system enables aplurality of players to achieve a designated outcome associated with thejackpot award or maximum award. That is, the maximum award may bedisplayed to a plurality of different players during the tournament.

In one such embodiment, the maximum award is associated with a singletournament winning game outcome. The winning game outcome has an initialprobability of being generated in the tournament. As the tournamentprogresses, if that winning game outcome has not been generated, theprobability associated with that winning game outcome increases as thetournament progresses such that the probability of a gaming machinegenerating the winning game outcome by the end of the tournament isclose or near to 100%.

For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 22A, 22B, 22C and 22D thetournament game is a slot game and a maximum award, 100,000 credits, isassociated with the game outcome of 7 7 7 7 7. The tournament durationis 5 minutes. Initially, the probability of one of the tournament gamingmachines generating the symbol combination 7 7 7 7 7 is 0.001% asillustrated in FIG. 22A. As illustrated in FIG. 22B, after 2 minutes, attime 2, if one of the tournament gaming machines has not generated thesymbol combination 7 7 7 7 7, the probability associated with the symbolcombination 7 7 7 7 7 increases to 0.05%. As illustrated in FIGS. 22Athrough 22D, in one embodiment, the probabilities of achieving othersymbol combinations remain constant while the probability associatedwith a designated winning symbol combination increases. After 4 minutes,if one of the tournament gaming machines has not generated the symbolcombination 7 7 7 7 7, the percentage that the symbol combination 7 7 77 7 increases to 1% as illustrated in FIG. 22C. In one embodiment, asthe probability of generating the designated symbol combination 7 7 7 77 increases, the percentage of generating other symbol combinationsdecreases. In one embodiment, after the designated symbol combinationhas been generated, the probability of generating the designated symbolcombination decreases to 0% as illustrated in FIG. 22D. In oneembodiment, the probability of generating other winning symbolcombinations increases once the designated symbol combination has beengenerated and decreases to 0%.

The gaming system may increase the probability of being provided orselected associated with a designated tournament game outcome in anysuitable manner. In one embodiment, the gaming system employs aplurality of paytables to increase the probability of generating adesignated tournament outcome. For example, at the beginning of atournament, a central controller messages a first tournament gameprogram to a plurality of gaming machines for a tournament, the firsttournament game program including a first paytable. The first paytableincludes a plurality of tournament game outcomes including a designatedtournament game outcome. The tournament game outcomes are eachassociated with a probability of being provided during the tournament.The designated tournament game outcome is associated with a firstprobability of being provided during the tournament. The gaming systemenables each of the gaming machines to download the first tournamentgame program. The gaming system enables each of a plurality of playersto play tournament games associated with the first tournament program.For each tournament game played, the gaming system determines atournament game outcome to provide based on the first paytable, providesthe determined tournament game outcome and displays any award associatedwith the determined tournament game outcome. In one embodiment, thegaming machines send the determined tournament game outcome to a centralcontroller upon a triggering event or at the end of each game.

Upon an occurrence of a triggering event, the central controllerdetermines if the designated tournament game outcome has been provided.If the designated tournament game outcome has not been provided, thecentral controller messages a second tournament game program to aplurality of the gaming machines for the tournament which includes asecond paytable. The second paytable includes a plurality of thetournament game outcomes including the designated tournament gameoutcome. The tournament game outcomes are each associated with one ofthe probabilities of being provided during the tournament. Each of thetournament game outcomes may be associated with the same probabilitiesas the first paytable or probabilities that are different from the firstpaytable. The designated tournament game program is associated with asecond probability of being provided. The second probability of beingprovided is higher than the first probability of being provided. Thegaming machines enable each of a plurality of players to play tournamentgames associated with the second tournament program in the tournament.For each the tournament game played, the gaming machine determines oneof the tournament game outcomes to provide based on the second paytable,provides the determined tournament game outcome and displays any awardassociated with the determined tournament game outcome. The gamingmachine sends the determined tournament game outcome to the centralcontroller. This process of employing new paytables that have a higherprobability of being generated associated with a designated awardcontinues until the designated award is generated.

At the end of the tournament, the central controller determines atournament winner based on the displayed awards. It should beappreciated that the tournament outcomes and the awards may bedetermined by the central controller which messages the determined gameoutcomes to the gaming machines which display the game outcomes andawards determined by the central controller. The central controller maycontinue to employ new paytables in the tournament that have a higherprobability of being generated associated with a designated award untilthe designated award is generated in the tournament. It should also beappreciated that the central controller may message a plurality ofpaytables to the gaming machines or the gaming machines may store aplurality of paytables. The central controller then messages the gamingmachines regarding which paytable to employ at different points in thetournament.

In one embodiment, the gaming system centrally determines the gameoutcomes or awards and guarantees that the jackpot or maximum award willbe displayed to a player during a tournament and that the maximum awardis only displayed to one player during a single tournament. Certaincentral determination gaming systems have been implemented wherein thecentral system maintains one or more predetermined pools or sets ofrandom number or game play seeds. In these systems, the centralprocessor selects a game play seed and the selected game play seed iscommunicated to an individual gaming machine. The gaming machineutilizes the communicated game play seed to determine the predeterminedgame outcome. In one embodiment, the tournament has a predetermined poolof tournament game outcomes and/or tournament awards that include allavailable tournament game outcomes and/or tournament awards. In oneembodiment, the central controller selects one of the tournament gameoutcomes. One of the gaming machines displays the selected tournamentgame outcome. During a tournament, once that tournament game outcome hasbeen selected, it is unavailable to be selected and displayed again in atournament or a round of the tournament or for a designated time period.In this embodiment, as each game outcome is provided to one of theplayers, the gaming system flags or removes the provided game outcomefrom the predetermined set or pool. Once flagged or removed from the setor pool, the specific provided game outcome from that specific poolcannot be provided again. It should be appreciated that a pool mayinclude game outcomes or awards.

In another embodiment, the gaming system includes a designatedtournament game outcome in a predetermined pool. This designatedtournament game outcome is associated with a maximum award. The gamingsystem randomly determines the tournament game outcomes that are not inthe predetermined outcome pool. Upon the occurrence of a triggeringevent, the gaming system selects and provides the designated tournamentgame outcome to the player and displays the maximum award to the player.That is, in one embodiment, a predetermined outcome pool includes one ormore tournament game outcomes or tournament game awards but not all ofthe available tournament game outcomes or tournament game awards. Inthis embodiment, the game outcomes in the pool of outcomes are providedto one or more players during the tournament upon an occurrence of atriggering event or at a certain point in time in the tournament and theother game outcomes are randomly provided to the players through-out thetournament.

As illustrated in FIG. 23, in one embodiment, the gaming system randomlydetermines game outcomes for tournament games and upon an occurrence ofa triggering event, the gaming system provides a player with adesignated game outcome associated with a jackpot award or a maximumaward. As illustrated in FIG. 23, in one embodiment, the gaming systemdetermines a jackpot award to associate with a designated game outcomefor an outcome pool as illustrated by block 384. It should beappreciated that a tournament may include one or more jackpot awards.The gaming system enables the players to play the tournament asillustrated in block 386. The gaming system randomly determines gameoutcomes for tournament games as illustrated in block 388. The gamingsystem determines if the triggering event has occurred as illustrated indiamond 390. In one embodiment, if there is an occurrence of thetriggering event, the gaming system provides one of the players of thetournament the designated game outcome from the outcome pool anddisplays the jackpot award to that player as illustrated in block 392.If the triggering event has not occurred, the gaming system randomlydetermines game outcomes for the tournament games as illustrated inblock 388. After providing one of the players the jackpot award, thegaming system continues to generate random game outcomes as illustratedin block 394. At the end of the tournament, the gaming system determinesthe winner of the tournament. It should be appreciated that an outcomepool may include one or more tournament game outcomes that areassociated with a maximum award.

It should be appreciated that the gaming system may use pools in anysuitable manner. In one embodiment, the gaming system centrallydetermines the game outcomes or awards and guarantees that the jackpotor maximum award will be displayed to a player during a tournament. Inone such embodiment, the outcome pool includes all of the possibleoutcomes of the tournament. In one such embodiment, the gaming systemassociates a designated award with one of the tournament game outcomesbased on an additional factor. For example, the tournament game outcomeof bar bar bar in the first five minutes of the tournament is associatedwith an award of 0 non-redeemable credits. In a next five minutes, thetournament game outcome of bar bar bar is associated with the designatedaward. In a last five minutes of the tournament, the tournament gameoutcome of bar bar bar is associated with an award of fivenon-redeemable credits. It should be appreciated that any tournamentgame outcome may be associated with any suitable award based on anysuitable factor including but not limited to previous tournament gameoutcomes generated in the tournament, a number of total tournament gamesplayed, a passage of time, a generation of a certain one of thetournament game outcomes, an operator input and a tournament score.

In one embodiment, the gaming machines determine or generate thetournament game outcomes. In one such embodiment, the central controllersends or messages a command to at least one of the gaming machines tonot provide the tournament game outcome determined by the gaming machineand to provide the designated tournament game outcome. For example, agaming machine generates a tournament game outcome of the symbols:orange bell orange. The central controller, randomly or upon anoccurrence of a designated event or triggering event, messages thegaming machine to not provide the tournament game outcome of orange bellorange and to provide a designated tournament game outcome.

It should be appreciated that the triggering event may be any suitableevent. In one embodiment, the triggering event is a passage of time. Forexample, at the end of a time period, such as 12 minutes into a 15minute tournament, the gaming system provides the player who receivesthe next generated game outcome with a designated game outcomeassociated with the jackpot or designated award. In another embodiment,the triggering event is a game outcome. In another embodiment, thetriggering event is a game outcome generated in a designated timeperiod. In another embodiment, the triggering event is an operatorinput. In another embodiment, the triggering event is a number of gameoutcomes, such as a certain number of consecutive winning game outcomes.In another embodiment, the triggering event is a point total. In anotherembodiment, the triggering event is an accumulating event. In oneembodiment, the accumulating event is accumulated tournament wide. Forexample, the triggering event is the occurrence of the symbolcombination bar bar bar ten times by any of the gaming machines of thetournament. The triggering event may be based on individual playeraccumulation. For example, the triggering event is any playerindividually obtaining three designated game outcomes.

It should be appreciated that the probability of one or more tournamentgame outcomes being generated, selected or provided may increase due toany suitable factor or combinations of factors evenly for the groupgaming machines, including but not limited to: (a) time in a time basedtournament; (b) number of games played in a number of games basedtournament; (c) total amount wagered in a gaming session in a live moneytournament; (d) a player ranking and (e) any other player cardstatistic. It should be appreciated that the probability of one or moretournament game outcomes being generated, selected or displayed by oneor more gaming machines may increase variably for one or more gamingmachines due to any suitable factor or combinations of factors,including but not limited to: (a) an amount of time in a time basedtournament; (b) number of games played in a number of games tournament;(c) total amount wagered in a gaming session in a live money tournament;(d) the location of a gaming machine; and (e) player trackingstatistics.

It should be appreciated that the maximum award or jackpot award may beany suitable award. In one embodiment, the maximum award is a number ofpoints. In another embodiment, the maximum award is a number ofnon-redeemable credits. In another embodiment, the maximum award is anumber of player points that apply to the player tracking accounts.

It should be appreciated that the maximum award may be provided to anysuitable number of players during a course of a tournament.

It should be appreciated that the gaming system may indicate thetournament game awards to the players in any suitable manner. In oneembodiment, the gaming system displays one or more of the tournamentgame awards to the players. In another embodiment, the gaming systemauditorily indicates one or more tournament game awards to the players.In another embodiment, the gaming system individually indicates each ofthe tournament game awards to the players. In another embodiment, thegaming system indicates each of the tournament game awards to theplayers at a certain point in the tournament. That is, the gaming systemdoes not individually indicate every individual tournament game award toa player but summarizes the tournament game awards and indicates them tothe player upon a triggering event.

It should also be appreciated that the server based tournament systemdisclosed herein enables the tournament to be based on criteria otherthan most accumulated points or credits. In one such embodiment, thegaming system determines a tournament score or standing for eachparticipating player based on occurrences of a designated event duringthe tournament. The tournament scoring in one embodiment is completelybased on one or more designated outcomes or events. For example, theplayer with the most occurrences of scatter pays wins the tournament. Itshould be appreciated that the tournament score may be based on anysuitable event or combination of events. In one embodiment, the playerwith most occurrences of a single symbol wins the tournament. Forexample, the gaming system determines the winner of the tournament basedon which player has generated the most wild symbols during play of thetournament. In another embodiment, the player with the most occurrencesof one or more designated groups of symbols wins the tournament. Forexample, the gaming system scores the tournament based on which playergenerated the most flushes in a video poker tournament. In anotherembodiment, the designated event or outcome is generating a symbol in aspecific location. For example, the gaming system scores the tournamentbased on the cherry symbols in the first column or on the first reel.That is, whichever player generates the most cherry symbols in the firstcolumn of the gaming machine is the winner of the tournament. In anotherembodiment, the winner of the tournament is based on the greatest numberof total winning combinations. In another embodiment, the winner of thetournament is based on the most occurrences of winning outcomes in arow. In another embodiment, the winner of the tournament is based on themost occurrences of losing outcomes in a row. In another embodiment, thewinner of the tournament is based on the highest single payout of theplayers. In another embodiment, the winner of the tournament is based onthe highest average payout of the players. It should be appreciated thatthe designated outcome or event may be any suitable outcome or event. Inanother embodiment, the tournament is based on the least occurrences ofa designated outcome or event. For example, the tournament winner is theplayer who generated the fewest blank symbols in the slot tournament. Itshould be appreciated that the designated award or event may be anysuitable event, including but not limited to: (a) a game outcome; (b) apoint total; (c) a credit total; (d) a bonus event; (e) a game event; or(f) any combination thereof.

It should be appreciated that the tournament may have any suitablenumber of winners. In one embodiment, the tournament winners aredetermined through one or more different methods of scoring. Forexample, the prizes for the tournament are three $1000 prizes. Theplayer with the most accumulated credits wins $1000, the person with themost wins on payline #2 wins #1000 and the person with the firstoccurrence of the symbol combination of bar-bar-bar-bar wins $1000. Itshould be appreciated that the gaming system may determine thetournament winners based on any suitable number of methods.

In one embodiment, the gaming system provides awards to a plurality ofplayers in addition to providing an award to the overall tournamentwinner. In one such embodiment, the gaming system determines thetournament winner based on a first method of scoring, such as the playerwith the most points or credits. The gaming system additionallydetermines one or more players to provide an award or prize based onanother method of scoring, such as the person with the most occurrencesof a designated outcome or an event.

In another embodiment, the player with the most occurrences of adesignated outcome or event in a certain time period during thetournament is the tournament winner or wins a prize. In one embodiment,upon the occurrence of a triggering event, the gaming system monitors adesignated outcome or event for a certain time period to determine atournament winner. For example, upon a player achieving a certain symbolcombination, the player with the most occurrences of a wild symbol forthe next 10 minutes during the tournament wins a prize. In anotherexample, upon a player reaching a certain point level, every time aplayer gets a 7 symbol in the next two minutes during the tournament,the gaming system provides that player with a point. It should beappreciated that the triggering event may be any suitable triggeringevent, including but not limited to: (a) a game outcome; (b) a pointtotal; (c) a credit total; (d) a time period; (e) an input from a gamingestablishment operator; (f) a bonus event; (g) a game event; or (h) anycombination thereof.

For example, as illustrated on FIG. 19A, in one embodiment, randomly orupon an occurrence of a triggering event during a tournament, the gamingsystem holds a contest or a sub-tournament to provide one or moreplayers with the greatest number of occurrences of a designated event aprize. For example, in a synchronized tournament, the gaming machines ofthe gaming system display messages to the players during the play of thetournament that whichever player generates the most wild symbolsanywhere on the display devices in an 8 minute period wins $250, asillustrated on the display device 366 of a gaming machine in FIG. 19A.

As illustrated in FIG. 19A, in one embodiment, one or all of the gamingmachines display suitable information regarding the contest orsub-tournament. For example, the gaming machine display device displaysa countdown of time in a time display meter 368 and a total number ofwild symbols in a wild symbol display 370.

As illustrated in FIG. 19B, in one embodiment, the gaming systemnotifies the players of the tournament which player won the $250. Inanother embodiment, the gaming system only notifies the winner of thecontest or sub-tournament. In another embodiment, the winner of thecontest or sub-tournament is announced at the end of the tournament,round or session of the tournament.

It should be appreciated that intermittent or intermediate awards in atournament may be determined based on any suitable tournament or gameparameters or criteria which can be measured by the server based system.In one embodiment, one or more intermittent awards are based ondesignated symbol occurrences on a designated payline. In anotherembodiment, the player with the first occurrence of a designated eventwins a prize. For example, the first player who achieves a royal flushin a video poker tournament wins an award or prize. The gaming systemmay provide any suitable number of players awards or prizes based on anysuitable criteria. It should be appreciated that the designated award orevent may be any suitable event, including but not limited to: (a) agame outcome; (b) a point total; (c) a credit total; (d) a bonus event;(e) a game event; or (f) any combination thereof.

In one embodiment, the gaming system requires a player to wager acertain amount or to buy into the sub-tournament. In another embodiment,the gaming system does not require the players to wager certain amountsor to buy into the sub-tournament.

In one embodiment, the gaming system enables certain tournament playersto participate in the sub-tournament or be eligible for intermittentawards. For example, only players playing at a first bank of gamingmachines are eligible to win the intermittent award. In another example,only players of a certain level, such as gold player status levelplayers, are eligible to player for the award. In another embodiment,only the players with the 10 lowest scores are eligible to win theintermittent award. It should be appreciated that eligibility toparticipate in the sub-tournament and to win intermittent awards may bedetermined by or based on any suitable criteria.

In an alternative embodiment, players actively playing on the gamingmachines of the gaming system but not participating in a tournament areeligible to play in the sub-tournament or to win an intermittent award.In one such embodiment, when a tournament is occurring at one or more ofthe gaming machines, the gaming system enables other, non-tournamentplayers to compete for an award. It should be appreciated that thegaming system may determine the eligibility of non-tournament players inany suitable manner. In one such embodiment, the gaming system enablesevery non-tournament player currently playing a gaming machine to playin the sub-tournament. In another embodiment, the gaming system onlyenables certain non-tournament players, such as gold level players, toparticipate in the sub-tournament. In another embodiment, the gamingsystem determines which non-tournament players are eligible based on thelocations of gaming machines. For example, the non-tournament players ofgaming machines 1 to 50 are eligible to play in the sub-tournament.

In one embodiment, the gaming system requires a non-tournament player towager a certain amount or to buy into the sub-tournament. In oneembodiment, the gaming system only requires non-tournament players towager a certain amount or to buy into the sub-tournament. In oneembodiment, tournament players may automatically participate in thesub-tournament but there is some form of entry barrier fornon-tournament players. In another embodiment, the gaming system doesnot require any players to wager certain amounts or to buy into thesub-tournament.

In another embodiment, an event in or associated with one or moreplayer's games affects an aspect of one or more other player's game orone or more other player's tournament. For example, a player's gameoutcome affects one or more of the games, points or credits ortournament duration of other players. That is, when a player achieves anoutcome or a designated event during a tournament, the gaming systemchanges one or more aspects of another player's game or credit total.

As illustrated in FIG. 20A, in one embodiment, upon the occurrence ofone or more designated events, the gaming system provides a player anaward funded by the other tournament players. For example, if a playertriggers the symbol combination of bell-bell-bell on an active payline,the gaming system automatically subtracts that amount from the accountsor credit meters of each of the other tournament players and providesthe total to the triggering player. During a tournament, every time aplayer achieves a certain symbol combination, the gaming system providesthat player an award funded by each of the other players. This couldalternatively occur, only one time or a designated number of times. Thiscan also be player specific such that a player can only have this occurin favor of them a designated number of times or against them adesignated number of times.

As illustrated in FIG. 20A, a first player, player #33, achieves thedesignated symbol combination of bell-bell-bell. The gaming system thensubtracts $1 from the accounts or meters of each non-triggeringtournament player and provides this total to trigging player #33. Asillustrated in FIG. 20A, the gaming device provides player #33 a win of$55. As illustrated in FIG. 20B, the gaming system subtracts a $1 fromone of the non-triggering players.

It should be appreciated that a player may actively choose toparticipate in another player's game affecting their game. For example,in one embodiment, the tournament is a poker tournament, where everyplayer makes a wager against their own hand. The winner of the handwould receive a percentage of this wager from every other player.

It should be appreciated that an amount provided to another playerfunded by tournament players may be funded in any suitable manner. Forexample, the tournament is a slot tournament where paylines #3, #9 and#12 pay out the value of winning the combination on the payline.Additionally, for paylines #3, #9 and #12, in addition to the paytablewin, the player receives a credit from every player in the tournament.

It should be appreciated that one or more player's games may change anysuitable aspect of the other players' games or tournament. In anotherembodiment, when a player achieves a designated outcome during atournament, the tournament play of one or more non-triggering playersstops for a certain time period. For example, when a triggering playerachieves a certain number of designated symbol combinations, the gamingsystem stops tournament game play for a period of 30 seconds on theother non-triggering gaming machines. That is, the other players haveless time to play the tournament and are not scoring points or winningcredits during this time period. In another embodiment, when a playerachieves a designated outcome during a tournament, the tournament playfor triggering players increases for a certain amount of time. Inanother embodiment, when a player achieves a designated outcome during atournament, the gaming system removes time from non-triggering playersand provides such time to the triggering player. For example, when aplayer achieves a designated event, the gaming system takes a minutefrom the tournament time of each non-triggering participating player andprovides it to the triggering player. For example, if there is onetriggering player and 20 non-triggering players, the triggering player'stournament game time is extended by 20 minutes and each of the 20non-triggering tournament players' tournament time decreases by oneminute. It should be appreciated that any suitable aspect of one or moreplayer's game play may affect one or more aspects of other players'tournaments. An occurrence of one or more designated events by a playermay change any suitable aspect of one or more player's games, such asbut not limited to one or more other player's: (i) credit meter; (ii)number of winning symbol combinations; (iii) points; (iv) length oftournament; (v) number of games in the tournament; and (vi) anycombination thereof.

In one embodiment, the gaming system requires players to be playingsimultaneously. That is, a triggering player must be playing at the sametime as the affected player. In another embodiment, the players may beplaying their tournaments at different times. For example, for thetournament, each player is provided a number of games to play. At 11:00am, a first player receives a tournament game outcome of orange orangeorange. In this tournament the tournament game outcome of orange orangeorange results in the subtracting of 3 tournament games from the playerthat received the game outcome orange orange orange. The gaming systemprovides the three tournament games to the next player with a tournamentgame outcome of bar bar bar. The next player may be playingsimultaneously with the player that received the tournament game outcomeof orange orange orange or may play at a different time as that player.In one embodiment, the gaming system ensures that a later playerreceives a tournament game outcome of bar bar bar and provides thatplayer an extra three games for the tournament.

It should also be appreciated that an occurrence of one or moredesignated events may not affect all players equally. In one suchembodiment, all of the players are not affected negatively equally. Forexample, if a triggering player achieves a certain symbol combination,only players who are not members of a player tracking system have tofund the triggering player's award. In one such embodiment, all of theplayers are not affected positively equally. For example, only certainplayers are eligible to win awards funded by other players. It should beappreciated that the gaming system may determine which players areaffected by an event in another player's game or in their own game inany suitable manner.

In an alternative embodiment, the gaming system requires players in atournament to compete with their own money in the competition. Forexample, a player is given a tournament time limit of an hour. Duringthat hour, a player may try to win the most points possible using theplayer's own money. In one embodiment of a live money tournament and aplayer is required to wager throughout the entire tournament. The wagermay be a set wager. In this instance, players are ranked by totalwinnings at the end of the tournament. Alternatively, if players areenabled to choose their wager, a weighting may be used in ranking inorder to ensure equality among participants in their performance.

In one embodiment of a tournament, the gaming system surveys eachplayer's non-tournament game results and stores one or more of theresults which combined form a tournament result or score. For example,the gaming system saves the top five scores of each player's games thatthe player wagers on during a 24 hour period as a tournament score. Forexample, the gaming system requires players to identify themselves at agaming machine and enables the players to wager and play non-tournamentwagering games. For each game played, the gaming system provides a gameoutcome and provides any credits associated with each played gameoutcome. The gaming system stores the top five credit amounts won bythat player for the games as a tournament score. In another embodiment,instead of storing the awards, the gaming system converts the awardsinto points to store for a tournament score. In one embodiment, thegaming system only stores scores for certain games for certaintournaments. For example, the gaming system only stores poker scores forthe tournament. In another embodiment, the tournament includes anysuitable game in the casino. It should be appreciated that the gamingsystem may monitor, survey or store any suitable game scores or awardsbased on any suitable factors for a tournament.

It should be appreciated that a live money tournament may be grouped byany suitable wagering factor or determined in any suitable manner. Forexample, gaming machines frequently have different wageringdenominations such as $1, and $2. For a live money tournament, in oneembodiment, the tournament is grouped by the denominations of the gamingmachines. For example, all of the $1 gaming machines are groupedtogether for a first group of awards and the $2 gaming machines aregrouped together for a second group of awards. In another embodiment,gaming machines of different denominations are not separated, and theplayer playing the higher denomination gaming machine therefore has abenefit over a player playing a lower denomination gaming machine. Inanother embodiment, the tournament includes an equalizer such as asuitable math model or algorithm to even out the point distributionbetween gaming machines of different denominations. For example, if afirst player is playing a $1 gaming machine and a second player isplaying a $2 gaming machine, the tournament includes a point multiplierfor the player of the $1 gaming machine to even the chances of achievingpoints in the tournament. In another embodiment, the tournament includesanother equalizer or mechanism to create substantially equal competitionin a live money tournament which includes different denominationmachines. For example, a $1 gaming machine includes fifteen winningsymbol combinations and a $2 gaming machine includes only twelve winningsymbol combinations. Therefore, while a player at the $2 gaming machinemay receive more points for a winning symbol combination than a $1gaming machine, the player at the $1 gaming machine may have a higherprobability of triggering a winning symbol combination.

In another embodiment, the gaming system enables the player to selectthe tournament game to play from a plurality of tournament games. In oneembodiment, each of the tournament games available to the player isequal in statistical analysis to ensure parity in the tournament. Forexample, if the player is given the choice of Game A and Game B, bothgames have a 95.7% payout to ensure neither player is advantaged ordisadvantaged by their choice. As discussed above, the tournament gamesuse any suitable equalizer such as a suitable math model to ensureequality in a game such as increasing winning symbol combinations,providing multipliers, turbo or bonus mode availability or any othersuitable method.

Turning back to FIG. 6, in block 114, the gaming system determines whereto get the player list from. The list of players may be stored in thegaming system for an invited guest tournament. In one embodiment, thegaming establishment operator determines the player list and enters theplayer list into the gaming system. In another embodiment, the list ofplayers is established as each player plays the tournament, such as inan automatic tournament. In another embodiment, the players determinethe list of players, such as in a challenge tournament.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, in block 116, the gaming system determineswhich gaming machines will participate in the tournament. In oneembodiment, all of the gaming machines in a gaming establishment areoperable to participate in the tournament. In another embodiment, onlycertain of the gaming machines are operable to participate in thetournament. It should be appreciated that as describe above, any serverbased gaming machine may be configured to participate in the tournamentvia one or more commands from the central server.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, in block 118, the gaming system determines howthe gaming machines for each player will be chosen. In one embodiment,the gaming establishment operator enters all of the players and thegaming system randomly determines and assigns a tournament eligiblegaming machine to that person. That is, the gaming system determines andassigns a gaming machine for each player of the tournament. In anotherembodiment, the gaming establishment operator enters all of the playersand the gaming establishment operator determines and enters a gamingmachine for each player. That is, the gaming establishment operatordetermines and assigns a gaming machine for each player of thetournament. In another embodiment, a participating player may determineor choose that player's gaming machine. For example, in a synchronizedtournament, a player may enter a player card into the gaming machine theplayer wants to play on. In a self-scheduled play tournament, a playermay enter a user card into any participating gaming machine and play thetournament during the specified time period. In one embodiment, a setorder is used to determine how players are able to choose theirtournament gaming machine. The order may be first come, first served.Alternatively, the order may be based on player ranking with higherranking players given priority in choosing their gaming machines. In oneembodiment, it is preferred that the assignment process keeps a “touchand see” feel. A gaming establishment may implement any appropriategaming machine determining randomization process. Players may choose towitness the assignment of the gaming machines. For example, a name of aregistered player may be drawn by a gaming establishment employee and adrawing may be held to determine the gaming machine for that player. Forexample, ping pong balls with gaming machines numbers are drawn from acage to match each player to a gaming machine.

FIG. 15 illustrates one embodiment of a method of player assignment togaming machines with the participation of the gaming system operator. Asillustrated in FIG. 15, block 220, the operator begins the playerassignments to gaming machines for the tournament. The gaming systemenables the system operator to determine whether the central serverassigns players to gaming machines for the tournament, as illustrated indiamond 222. If the gaming system is going to assign players to thegaming machines, the central server randomly assigns the registeredplayers to the gaming machines, as illustrated in block 224. If thecentral server does not assign the gaming machines to players, thegaming system enables the operator to manually enter the gaming machineassignments into the central server as illustrated in block 226.Regardless of whether or not the central server randomly assigns theplayer's gaming machines, the gaming system displays the gaming machineassignments for each session on signs or display devices to informplayers of their assigned gaming machine, as illustrated in block 228.

The gaming system determines if the gaming machines have been configuredfor the tournament, as illustrated in diamond 230. If the gamingmachines have not been configured for the tournament, the gaming systemcontinues to poll the assigned gaming machines, as illustrated in block232 to see if they have been configured or need to be configured. If thegaming machines have been configured, each gaming machine displays thename of the assigned player, as illustrated in block 234. The gamingsystem determines if the assigned player is at their assigned gamingmachines, as illustrated in diamond 236. In one embodiment, if theplayers are not at the assigned gaming machines, the gaming system waitsfor the player, as illustrated in block 238. It should be appreciatedthat the gaming system may only wait a designated time or until adesignated number of players are at their assigned gaming machinesbefore continuing to the next step. If each of the players are at theirassigned gaming machines, the gaming system determines if it is time tostart the final tournament preparation, as illustrated in diamond 240.If it is time to start the final tournament preparation, the gamingmachine enables the tournament games on the gaming machines asillustrated in block 242. If it is not time to start the finaltournament preparation, the gaming machine instructs the gaming machinesto offer players non-tournament game play with live wagers, asillustrated in block 244. It should be appreciated that in oneembodiment, the central server only instructs gaming machines that havethe assigned player at the gaming machine to offer non-tournament gameplay. The gaming system determines if each of the players plays the livewager game, as indicated in diamond 246. If the players do not play thelive wager game, the gaming machine displays tournament rules, features,tournament start times and/or any other suitable messages to the player,as illustrated in block 248. The gaming machine continues to offerplayer the non-tournament games with live wagers as indicated in block244.

If the player plays non-tournament game play with live wagers, thegaming system determines if the player has cashed out before it is timeto start the tournament or of the player has remaining credits on thegaming machine when it is time to start the tournament, as indicated indiamond 250. If the player has not cashed out when it is time for theplayer to begin the tournament, the gaming machine prints a ticket tothe player with a credit amount, as illustrated in block 252. The gamingmachine then enables the tournament game on the gaming machine, asillustrated in block 254.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, block 120, one of the tournament parameters iswhen to return each gaming machine to non-tournament mode. The gamingmachines may change back instantly or upon a signal from the centralcontroller. If there are a number of tournament sessions in a row at agaming machine, that gaming machine may stay in tournament mode for acertain amount of time or until each session is completed.

The gaming system is operable to communicate all of the tournamentparameters to the players in any suitable manner. The gaming system mayregister players for the tournament, invite players to the tournament inany suitable manner and display the scores and outcomes of thetournament in any suitable manner. The gaming system enables the gamingestablishment operator to determine what messages are communicated tothe players and the times that messages for the tournament arecommunicated to the players.

Upon the configuration of the tournament, players are invited to be inthe tournament based on the configured qualification criteria. In oneembodiment, the gaming system informs the player of a tournamentqualification on the internet, such as by posting a list of eligibletournament players or sending the eligible players an email informingthem of their invitation to join a tournament. In another embodiment,upon qualification due to a game outcome or bonus game, the gamingmachine immediately invites a player to the tournament.

In one embodiment, the gaming system is operable to track player'strends to determine how many players that are invited to the tournamentwill actually play in the tournament. For example, in one embodiment,the gaming system uses player tracking information, such as the players'sex, home town, wagering information and other suitable information toestimate how many players will show up for a given tournament. Thegaming system would use a suitable mathematical model or algorithm, suchas regression analysis, to predict how many players will play thetournament. Using such math models, the gaming system can determine whoto invite, how many players to invite and market the tournament to theactual, potential players. In one embodiment, the gaming system has anautomated process for estimating who will come to the tournament and howto invite the players. It should be appreciated that tournamentparticipation predictions may be completed by the gaming system in anysuitable manner.

In one embodiment, the tournament qualification is based on a gameoutcome or a bonus game. As illustrated in FIG. 8, in one embodiment,the gaming system enables a gaming establishment employee to registerthe guests of an invited guest tournament.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the gaming system enables a gamingestablishment employee to swipe a player card or enter a player's nameto determine if the player is on the guest list for the tournament asillustrated in block 124. The gaming system determines if the player ison the guest list, as illustrated in diamond 126. If the player is noton the guest list, in one embodiment, the gaming system enables thegaming establishment employee to add the player to the guest list, asillustrated in block 128. If the player is on the guest list, the gamingsystem enables the gaming establishment employee to register the playerfor the tournament as illustrated in block 130. If the player is on theguest list, the gaming system determines if the tournament is configuredas a synchronized tournament, as illustrated in diamond 132. If thetournament is a synchronized tournament, the gaming system enables theemployee to select the sessions for each round of the tournament for theplayer as illustrated in block 134. If the tournament is not asynchronized tournament, the gaming system determines if the tournamentis configured as a self-scheduled tournament as illustrated in diamond136. If the tournament is a self-scheduled tournament, the gaming systeminforms the gaming establishment employee and/or the player of the datesand times for the tournament, as illustrated in block 138. In oneembodiment, if the tournament is a self-scheduled tournament, the gamingsystem informs the gaming establishment employee and/or player of thegaming machines that are operable to participate in the tournament asillustrated in block 138. If the tournament is not a self-scheduledtournament, the gaming system determines if the tournament is configuredas a delayed bonus tournament, as illustrated in diamond 140. In oneembodiment, if the tournament is a delayed bonus tournament, the gamingsystem enables the player to immediately play the tournament, asillustrated in block 142. Alternatively, if the tournament is a delayedbonus tournament, the gaming system enables the player to play thetournament upon an appropriate bonus trigger. If the tournament is not aself-scheduled tournament, a synchronized tournament, or a delayed bonustournament, the gaming system enables the gaming establishment employeeto enter any required information for any other type of tournament asillustrated in block 144.

In one embodiment, the gaming system enables a player to self-registerfor a tournament at a kiosk, at a gaming machine or on the internet,without the aid of a gaming establishment worker for a guest listtournament. FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a method ofself-registration for a tournament. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the gamingsystem enables the player to enter a tournament using an input device.The gaming system enables the player to enter identifying information,as illustrated in block 146. In one such embodiment, the gaming systemenables the player to swipe a player card to enter the tournament.

The gaming system determines if the player is on the guest list for thetournament, as illustrated in diamond 148. If the player is not on theguest list, in one embodiment, the gaming system does not enable theplayer to register for the tournament, as illustrated in block 150. Inone embodiment, the gaming system informs the player to see an employeeto be added to the guest list, as illustrated in block 152. If theplayer is on the guest list, the gaming system determines if it is thetime period configured for player registration, as illustrated in block154. In one embodiment, one of the configuration requirements for thetournament is setting a time period (e.g., dates and times) for theplayer to accept an invitation by registering for the tournament. If itis not the time period configured for player registration, the gamingsystem does not enable the player to register for the tournament, asillustrated in block 156. It should be appreciated that the gamingsystem may provide the player with any other appropriate messaging. Inone embodiment, if the player is registering at the wrong time, thegaming system informs the player of the correct time for registration.The gaming system may provide any messaging to a player such as how toenter the tournament, how to register the tournament, information aboutfuture tournaments, the tournament location and times and any othersuitable information.

If it is the time period for configuration, the gaming system enablesthe player to register for the tournament, as illustrated in block 158.

In one embodiment, the gaming system determines the configured type ofplay of the tournament. As illustrated in diamond 160, the gaming systemdetermines if the tournament is a synchronized tournament. If thetournament is a synchronized tournament, the gaming system enables theplayer to register for a session time for each round of the tournament,as illustrated in block 162. The gaming system determines if thetournament is a self-scheduled tournament as illustrated by diamond 164.If the tournament is a self-scheduled tournament, the gaming systeminforms the player of the times the player may play and which gamingmachines the player may play on, as illustrated in block 166. If thetournament is not a self-scheduled tournament, the gaming systemdetermines if the tournament is configured as a bonus tournament, asillustrated in diamond 168. In one embodiment, if the tournament is abonus tournament, the gaming system enables the player to immediatelyplay the bonus tournament upon registration as illustrated in block 170.Therefore, the player may immediately register for the tournament uponthe bonus tournament win at a gaming device and then immediately playthe tournament. Additionally, if the player decides to delay the play ofthe bonus tournament and play the tournament a different date, uponregistration for the tournament at a gaming machine on the subsequentdate, the player immediately plays the bonus tournament on that gamingmachine. That is, in one embodiment upon registration, a player mayautomatically use the bonus entry to play the tournament. In anotherembodiment, the gaming system enables the player to register for adelayed bonus tournament and pick at time to play the bonus tournament.If the tournament is not a self-scheduled tournament, a synchronizedtournament, or a bonus tournament, the gaming system enables the gamingestablishment employee to enter any required information for any othertype of tournament as illustrated in block 172.

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of self-registration. An apparatussuch as a gaming machine 10 c enables the player to self-register byentering pertinent information into a gaming machine. In the illustratedembodiment, the gaming machine enables the player to enter informationvia display device 16 including a touch screen keyboard. The gamingsystem enables the player to enter any information for registration forthe tournament, such as a player name, player nickname, anidentification number, a player tracking number or any otherinformation. In one embodiment, the gaming system also enables theplayer to submit other information at the gaming machine during playerregistration. For example, the player may select which futuretournaments to receive information on, how they want informationdisplayed to them during the tournament, or any other suitableinformation. In another embodiment, the gaming system enables the playerto select how to receive reminders for the tournaments. For example, aplayer may select to be emailed a reminder or immediately print areminder.

In another embodiment, the player registers for the tournament usingbiometric registration, such as by a finger print or hand print. Inanother embodiment, the tournament is an anonymous tournament whereregistration is based on some factor that is not matched to a player.For example, a non-logged in player at a gaming machine wins atournament entry and the gaming machine provides the player anidentification number to register for the tournament. The player cantherefore register for the tournament without revealing his or heridentify.

It should be appreciated that the gaming system is operable to cause atournament triggering gaming machine to print a ticket with anypertinent information on it upon registration. For example, if theplayer is assigned an identification number for the tournament, thegaming system may print a ticket including the information. In oneembodiment, if the player registers for the tournament on a gamingmachine or at a kiosk, the gaming machine or kiosk prints a remindersuch as the date and time of the tournament. It should be the player mayregister for the tournament and be reminded of the tournament in anysuitable manner.

It should be appreciated that during registration, a player or a gamingestablishment employee may enter any information necessary or requiredby the tournament. The gaming system may be operable to receive anickname or name for the player to display on a scoreboard for thetournament or any player card information for the tournament. In oneembodiment, the gaming system is operable to upload and display ascanned image or an icon for the tournament. In one embodiment, theplayer enters a nickname and an icon which represent the player on oneor more of the display devices during the tournament. In one suchembodiment, a gaming establishment worker and/or the gaming system mayscan and/or sensor nicknames and icons that will be displayed to thegeneral public. Additionally, if the tournament is conducted over theinternet or other data network, the gaming system may include a programto ensure that information displayed during the tournament conforms tocurrent industry censorship standards.

It should be appreciated that the gaming system may be used toreschedule, cancel and add players to the tournament in any suitablemanner. For example, if a player is late to a tournament the player mayregister for another session or another tournament through anyappropriate method. Additionally, if a player wants to join a tournamentwhen the player is not registered, the gaming system may enable theplayer to quickly join the tournament through self-registration orregistration through a gaming establishment employee. The gaming systemenables a player who has not yet started playing the tournament, tochange session times or to cancel participation in the tournament.

In one embodiment, a number of gaming machines in synchronizedtournaments are reserved for each tournament. When the session for thesynchronized tournament is full, the gaming system enables the player touse a reserved seat. In one embodiment, this option to use a reservedseat is limited to certain players, such as players at a certain rank orlevel.

FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of a method of synchronizedtournament mode of the present disclosure. As illustrated in block 174,the central controller sends the tournament game program to each of theparticipating gaming machines. It should be appreciated that the centralcontroller may send the gaming machine the game program at any pointprior to the start of the tournament. It should also be appreciated thatthe gaming machine may store the tournament game and the centralcontroller may send a command to execute the game program. Asillustrated in block 176, a certain time period prior to the start ofthe tournament session, the central controller sends a message to placethe available tournament credits and/or tournament minutes on thedisplay device of each gaming machine participating in the tournament.The gaming system displays player information on one or more displaydevices as illustrated in block 178. The player information may includebut is not limited to the participating player's name and player rank.The gaming system begins the tournament and enables the players to playthe tournament, as illustrated in block 180. The gaming system provideseach of the players the selected tournament game and the same paytable.Upon a certain event, each gaming machine sends the player's informationand scores to the central server. The event may be any suitable eventsuch as an amount of time, such as every second or every minute, theending of each game on that gaming machine, or any other triggeringevent. The central server causes the display of the player informationon one or more display devices in the gaming establishment and/or on oneor more display devices of the participating gaming machines, asillustrated in block 182. This method enables the central server toprovide scoring information for the tournament while the tournament isoccurring. The central controller continues to cause the display of upto date tournament information on the display devices of the gamingsystem 184. For example, the messaging system and sign manager mayprovide the tournament standings, broadcast live tournament cameracoverage, advertisements, information about future tournaments, or anyother suitable information across the entire gaming establishment onindividual gaming device display devices and/or on separate displays.Additionally, the messaging may be broadcast over the internet or anyother suitable medium.

Upon completion of the tournament, the central controller determines arank for each of the players according to the configured game rules andpaytable, as illustrated in block 186. The central controller determinesif there is another tournament game session following the playedtournament session, as illustrated in block 188. If there is anothertournament session scheduled immediately following the previoustournament session, the gaming system begins the process over again. Ifthere is not another synchronized tournament session, the gaming systemsends a message to each of the participating gaming machines causing thegaming machines to switch back into non-tournament play mode, asillustrated in block 190. The gaming machines then are operable toaccept wagers and resume non-tournament game play. The gaming system isoperable to track the player's tournament play during the sessions todetermine the winners.

In one embodiment, the gaming system pays out prizes to the playerdirectly at the gaming machine. Instead of having to leave the gamingmachine to redeem a prize, the player can automatically switch back tonon-tournament game play. The gaming device and gaming system may creditthe player's account for the win or provide the player a ticket toredeem the prize.

It should be appreciated that any suitable messages may be provided tothe players before, during and after the tournament. For example, if theplayer tries to register but is not qualified, the gaming establishmentemployee, kiosk or gaming machine may inform the player as to why thatplayer is not qualified. In various tournaments, the gaming systemincludes a plurality of central display devices or signs that areoperable to display the requirements and qualifications for tournamententry, the times of the tournament, and marketing, promotional andadvertising information. In another embodiment, if the player has apending tournament, upon identification at the gaming machine, thegaming machine reminds the player of the upcoming tournament.

In various tournaments, the central controller broadcasts performancemessaging to one or more devices in the gaming system. In oneembodiment, the central controller is incorporated with a sign managerwhich integrates with the central controller to display any suitableinformation.

By utilizing of the central server to communicate with each signcontroller, the gaming system presents a wealth of information to theplayer about not only tournaments the player is participating in, butalso other tournaments or jackpot awards that may be available to theplayer. Furthermore, the central server and sign controllerconfiguration enables for the signs to be custom tailored to the playerwho is playing each gaming machine to provide the player withinformation that will be most beneficial to their gaming session. Themessaging system facilitates complete customization of the tournament atthe gaming establishment level and tournament level. Additionally, thedisplay of the tournament may be customized to the player level,displaying the persons name and/or icon on that player's gaming device.

The sign controller is central to the sign integration used with thetournament system. This sign integration provides players with importantinformation regarding the tournaments. A sign module in the centralserver communicates with the sign controllers of selected displaydevices/signs (determined by any number of factors) on the gaming floor.For example, if a tournament is available only from gaming machines in aspecific section of a gaming establishment, only signs and displaydevices in that specific section provide and display tournamentinformation.

The signs/display devices may broadcast information such as playerscores or standings. The signs/display devices can provide real timetracking to the player as to the status of the tournament. Thesigns/display devices help a player determine their standing in thetournament, what the player needs to try to achieve to win, as well asspecific tournament information, such as when the tournament is over andwhat is required to participate in the tournament. Frequently, tobroadcast tournament information, gaming establishments employ constantaudio announcements through out the gaming establishment regarding thetournament information. The ability to provide this information over asign controller provides stream lined and non-invasive tournamentmessaging.

The gaming system of the present disclosure is operable to store theinformation from each tournament session. That is, in one embodiment,each tournament session is stored as a long term storable item. Thegaming system may store information for each player including the playeridentification, the player card encoding, the player name, the date andtime of the beginning and the end of the tournament sessions and rounds,the number of credits played, the number of games won, and the number ofcredits or points won.

For various tournaments, the gaming system permanently stores andrecords information regarding the winners of the tournament including,but not limited to, the player identification, the player name, theplayer encoding, the tournament name and identifier, the tournamentplace and the prize awarded to that winner.

In one type of tournament, the tournament is a self-scheduledmulti-round tournament where the score for each round of the tournamentcounts towards a final score. FIG. 12 illustrates a screen shot of aplayer receiving an entry into this cumulative multi-round tournament.The tournament may include any number of rounds and the tournament maybe configured using any suitable specifications. In the illustratedembodiment, the tournament is for the duration of a month. During thatmonth, the player may play any number of rounds. In the illustratedembodiment, the player may play a limit of 20 rounds. The player mayplay only one round a day or any other criteria assigned by theoperator. To qualify to play a tournament round that day, the playermust earn 100 points that day. Any suitable gaming machine incommunication with the central controller (i.e. server based gamingmachine) is operable to enable the player to play the tournament. Forexample, in one embodiment, each of these 20 sessions will count towardsthe player's final tournament score. Alternatively, only a set number ofthe player's best sessions will count towards their final tournamentscore. In the illustrated embodiment, the winner wins $250,000 and theplayers in second and third each win an award of $50,000.

In another self-scheduled multi-round tournament, as illustrated in FIG.13, the tournament rounds include a plurality of preliminary tournamentrounds and a final round. These preliminary tournament rounds qualifythe player to play a final round to determine the tournament winner(s).In the illustrated embodiment, additional players are selected at randomto participate for the final round of the multi-round tournament. Thisself-scheduled multi-round tournament lasts for a certain duration, sucha week. The player has a limited number of rounds that the player mayplay in the time period, such as five. The player plays the tournamentat the player's leisure upon qualification that day. To qualify to playa tournament round that day, a gaming establishment may set anddetermine any suitable required tournament entry fee, such as payingmoney for an entry fee or paying with player points. In the illustratedembodiment, the player must earn 50 points that day. Any server basedgaming machine is operable to enable the player to play in thetournament round. Each of these 5 rounds will count towards a finalpreliminary round score. The top fifteen players and five randomlychosen players will qualify to play a final round to determine a winnerbased on the final preliminary round scores. This final round determinesthe big prize winner. The winner wins $150,000, with two $30,000 prizesprovided to the round winners.

It should be appreciated that this final round may be any suitable typeof tournament. In another embodiment, the final round is in thesynchronized tournament format. That is, the final round is asynchronized tournament where all players play at a certain time and acertain location and enables spectators to watch the final tournament.

It should be appreciated that in these multi-round embodiments, eachscore of each round does not always count towards the player's finaltournament score or round score. For example, in one embodiment, onlythe top score of the all of the player's rounds count towards the finalscore. In another embodiment, only the top three scores count towards afinal preliminary round score to compete in a final tournament session.It is possible for a player to play as few as three different rounds andstill be able to submit a final score (or preliminary round score).However, a player increases their chance of getting a better score byplaying more rounds and submitting up to the limit of twenty scores (ofwhich their top three will be entered).

An example of one embodiment of this type of tournament is as follows. Aplayer is informed that a tournament will run from May 1^(st) to May31^(st) and a final score will comprise the top three tournament entriesfrom a limit of up to twenty tournament entries. A player is allowed toplay once a day during the tournament run. Upon being qualified, aplayer may make an entry into the tournament up to twenty times. Thefollowing chart illustrates an example of the play of three players,with each player's top three best scores indicated in bold. SCORES DATEPLAYER A PLAYER B PLAYER C May 1st 20 May 2nd 54 May 3rd 65 May 4th 9067 May 5th 59 May 6th 58 May 7th 41 May 8th 45 95 May 9th 28 May 10th110 May 11th 36 156 May 12th 58 May 13th 68 50 May 14th 25 May 15th 45May 16th 11 May 17th 12 87 13 May 18th 98 May 19th May 20th 5 12 May21st 125 May 22nd May 23rd 60 29 May 24th 54 May 25th 28 May 26th May27th 45 May 28th May 29th 67 May 30th 18 May 31st 15 79 SCORE 291 333284

As can be seen, even though Player A made the twenty maximum number ofentries into the tournament, Player A's score was lower by Player B'sscore who only made five tournament entries. Thus, Player B wins thetournament.

It should be appreciated that the above tournament may include multiplerounds. Additionally, the above tournament may include a top number ofqualifying players advancing to a final tournament round.

In another embodiment, the gaming system is operable to conduct asynchronized instant tournament one, a plurality or every day of theweek. The instant tournament creates spontaneous excitement. In oneembodiment, any carded player or logged on player can qualify to be acontestant by meeting specific tournament criteria and will instantly beentered into a tournament. Alternatively, any player can qualify bymeeting specific tournament criteria. As illustrated in FIGS. 14A, 14B,14C, and 14D the instant tournament may provide a player a chance toplay in a tournament on that day upon qualification.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D, in one embodiment, thegaming machines 208 a, 208 b, and 208 c are in banks or groups 204 whichinclude one or more large, group display devices 206. In one embodiment,each gaming machine 208 a, 208 b, and 208 c includes a primary display210 a, 210 b, and 210 c to display the tournament game, in tournamentmode and any suitable primary or secondary game in non-tournament gameplay mode. The gaming machines each include at least one secondarydisplay device 212 a, 212 b, and 212 c to display the tournamentinformation and rankings in tournament mode and any suitable primary orsecondary game in non-tournament game play mode. The primary andsecondary display devices may display any suitable information.

As illustrated in FIG. 14A, in one embodiment, the qualifier is winningor earning 75 points on the day of the tournament. Each day thetournament is at 6:00. Upon qualification, the player may register forthe tournament and play the tournament at 6:00 that day.

As illustrated in FIG. 14B, players at the first two gaming machines 208a, and 208 b qualify to play the tournament. In this illustratedembodiment, the gaming system enables the qualifying players toself-enroll or self-register for the tournament, as illustrated on theupper display devices 212 a and 212 b of the first two gaming machines2008 a and 208 b, respectively.

As illustrated in FIG. 14B, the player at the third gaming machine isnot qualified to play the instant tournament.

As illustrated in FIG. 14C, the gaming system enables the players whoqualify for the tournament to play the tournament at their respectivegaming machines. That is, each of the server based gaming machines hasthe tournament game program and parameters loaded on the gaming machine.The gaming machine then executes that tournament game program upon atournament qualified player playing at that gaming station at thetournament start time. The first two gaming machines 208 a and 208 bprovide the player a countdown to the play of the tournament and are intournament mode. The third gaming machine 208 c remains innon-tournament play mode and enables players to keep playing games onthe gaming machine while the tournament is in progress.

As illustrated in FIG. 14D, upon completion of the tournament, thegaming system displays tournament information and rankings to theplayer. In this illustrated embodiment, the gaming machinesparticipating in the tournament, 208 a and 208 b each display the nameor nickname of the player and a ranking of the top players. Asillustrated in FIG. 14D, the central display 206 displays the ranking ofthe top 20 players for that tournament. It should be appreciated thatany of the display devices may display any suitable tournamentinformation. The gaming machine then switches the gaming machines backinto non-tournament mode and enables the players to keep playing on thesame gaming machine.

It should be appreciated that instant tournaments may be offered in anysuitable number at any suitable time of the day. For example, a gamingestablishment may offer an instant synchronized tournament every twohours, increasing the likelihood that a player will continue playing onthat gaming machine until the next tournament. In another embodiment, agaming establishment offers instant tournaments based on a predeterminedtriggering event or a random determination. That is, the gaming systemnotifies any currently eligible players by displaying information ormaking an audio announcement that a tournament will begin in a certainnumber of minutes. At that time, the gaming system initiates the instantsynchronized tournament.

In another embodiment, the initiation of the instant tournament is basedon when an amount of a tournament jackpot. For example, the tournamentjackpot is a progressive jackpot where a portion of each wager funds thetournament jackpot which is displayed to the players. When the jackpotreaches a certain amount, such as $1000, an instant tournament begins.The display of the jackpot amount creates anticipation for playerswaiting to play the tournament.

In one embodiment, the initiation of the instant tournament is based onthe current number of eligible players. For example, when fifty playersjoin the tournament, the tournament begins. In one such embodiment, theinstant tournament is funded through a progressive jackpot system. Inone such embodiment, the gaming system initiates the tournament onlywhen the number of players reaches a designated number and when thetournament jackpot reaches a designated amount. In another embodiment,the player may have to pay an entry fee to enter the tournament. Thetiming of an instant tournament may also be based on the gamingestablishment's data trends, such as having a tournament when the gamingestablishment is known to have a “low traffic” lull, such as Tuesdaymornings.

For example, upon a certain trigger, an instant tournament is initiated.Any qualified player, based on any suitable of qualifying criteria, isalerted about the tournament initiation. In one embodiment, a messageappears on the eligible player's gaming machine prompting the player tojoin the tournament. The player may then be given the opportunity toenroll and register in the tournament. Upon a second trigger, thetournament will begin and all qualified and registered players play inthe tournament instantly. This type of tournament creates spontaneousexcitement across the floor by offering instant, high frequencytournaments.

In another embodiment, the tournament is a multi-round, self-scheduledtournament, where upon qualification and registration, the gaming systeminforms the players of the number of rounds of the tournament and datesand times for each round. The gaming system enables qualified players toplay the rounds at the player's leisure within scheduled times. Forexample, a self-scheduled tournament first round is between 9 am and 12pm on Saturday, the second round is between 1 pm and 3 pm on Saturdayand the third round is between 4 pm and 6 pm on Saturday. In thisself-scheduled tournament mode, the gaming system enables the player toplay games in non-tournament mode at a gaming machine, make an input toplay the tournament at that same gaming machine, to play the tournamentat that same gaming machine and then switch back to non-tournament modeand continue playing regular games at that same gaming machine. Thissetup provides for the player privacy to play the tournament withouthaving to leave a gaming machine to go to a tournament area.

For example, in one embodiment, the operator sets up a day or dates forthe tournament times. Players are qualified based on any number ofdetermined criteria. Qualified players are alerted of their status andcan play rounds at their leisure within the set up time parameters. Forexample, a first player may play round one at 9 am, round two at 1 pm,and round three at 5 pm. A second player may player round one at 12 pm,round two at 3 pm and round three at 4 pm. This setup gives players theflexibility to play when they want and how they want. Thisself-scheduled setup also provides them with the ability to play in theplayer order they want in the tournament (i.e., one of the first playersor one of the last players). In an alternative embodiment, a final roundmay also be played with the top contestants (and possibly random wildcards) from the prior rounds.

In one embodiment, the player may enroll in a tournament by selecting atournament game from a gaming machine menu. For example, in aself-scheduled tournament, the gaming machine enables the player to playnon-tournament games. The gaming machine enables the player to select atournament game from a tournament menu and then play a tournament. Inone embodiment of an on-demand tournament, the player may selectivelyrequest to play a tournament via a game menu on a gaming machine. Itshould be appreciated that the gaming system may enable players toselect a tournament game in any suitable manner and through the use ofany suitable input device.

It should be appreciated that any tournaments may be completed in theself-scheduled format. That is, instead of a same time where everyplayer is required to play the tournament, select times and dates may beoffered to the player to complete rounds of the tournament. In oneembodiment of the self-scheduled tournament, a player may play at theplayer's decided time after a certain increment of time, such as 45minutes after qualifying to play in the tournament. Each day, the gamingsystem determines one or more winners and awards one or more prizes.

In various types of tournaments, the gaming system enables the player toplay an individual tournament. The gaming system enables a single playerto play a tournament round and provides that player a tournament resultbased on a paytable. For example, if a player reaches a certain numberof points in the tournament round, that player could qualify for amulti-player tournament, a promotional prize, a monetary prize, ormerchandise. The player is not competing against other players in thistype of tournament. It should be appreciated that this individualtournament may be played as a bonus tournament or a self-scheduledtournament.

In another embodiment, the tournaments are smaller, micro-tournamentsthat take less time to play. The micro-tournament is a tournament with ashorter duration than a regular or typical tournament. For example, themicro-tournament may last less than a minute, less than five minutes orless than 10 minutes. In the micro-tournaments, upon a suitabletriggering event, such as a time of day or a number of players joiningthe tournament, the gaming system initiates a tournament. Themicro-tournament may be synchronized and played as a group orindividually played. That is, other players may play themicro-tournament at the same time or individually. In one embodiment,these micro-tournaments are regularly scheduled and the prizes aresmaller than for the regular tournaments. In one embodiment, upon atriggering event, such as the generation of a symbol combination, thegaming device switches to tournament mode for a micro-tournament. At amicro-tournament end triggering event, such as a time period, the gamingsystem determines a winner (instantly or upon an end event for asynchronized tournament or upon an end event for an individualtournament) and provides the winner an award. If the player is stilllogged on to a gaming machine, the gaming system directly provides theplayer the credits or a ticket for the award. If the player is no longerplaying at the gaming machine, the gaming system messages the player,such as via mail or email, regarding the player's win. In oneembodiment, a player is not limited to a single micro-tournament entrybut may participate in a play of the micro-tournament after eachoccurrence of the triggering event. Thus, players may have multipleentries into the micro-tournament.

In another embodiment, any tournament may be played as an on-demandself-scheduled tournament. In one embodiment of an on-demand tournament,the players do not have to qualify for the tournament but may registerto play a tournament. In one such embodiment, the players mayimmediately play a tournament and the scores are compiled over a certaintime period, such as a week. At the end of the time period, the gamingsystem determines the tournament winner. In another embodiment, uponregistration for an on-demand tournament, the player has to wait for acertain number of players to register to play in that tournament. Forexample, a tournament does not begin until 40 players have registeredfor the tournament. In one such embodiment, the winner is chosen fromthose 40 players and a prize is awarded. In one such embodiment, theplayers must pay an entry fee for the tournament. If entry is free,pending players may leave the gaming establishment off-setting thenumber of tournament players. The tournament in one embodiment providesan incentive to participate in the tournament.

In another embodiment, the player may challenge another player to atournament. For example, a player may type in a player's name ornickname to challenge the player to the tournament.

It should be appreciated that any tournament may include any suitablenumber of turbo or bonus modes during tournament game play.

In some tournaments with a number of sessions, players sometimes believethat if they have a bad first round, they have no chance of actuallywinning the tournament. Thus, the player may stop playing thetournament.

The gaming system may implement a turbo mode for any suitable reason orupon any suitable triggering event. A turbo mode may be used to help aplayer make up ground if the player is trailing. For example, the gamingsystem provides one or more turbo modes to a player for a limited timeperiod, such as when that player ranks in the last five players of thetournament. In one embodiment, the turbo modes are triggered upon a gameevent, such as a symbol combination. In another embodiment, turbo modesare randomly awarded to players during the tournament. It should beappreciated that one or more turbo awards may be awarded to the sameplayer at the same time. In one embodiment, the turbo modes include orare triggered based on a math model or suitable algorithm that isfavored to help a player make up ground if they are trailing and keepthe tournament more interesting. Various embodiments of a turbo modeinclude: extra symbol wilds, locked expanding wilds, scatter pays orextra scatter pays, random multipliers, higher paytables, extra points,additional winning combinations, faster play, auto play, extra paylinesor extra ways, extra reels, or any other desired features.

In one embodiment, the player's primary display device has metersshowing the player's current position in the standings and what turbomode they are playing. Turbo modes may also be displayed and highlightedwhen active in the tournament game. In an alternative embodiment, thegaming machine messages the player whether or not the player may go intoa turbo mode, such as “you are in last place, you are going into turbomode.” In one embodiment, each of the players begins the tournament withone or more turbo modes. The gaming system enables the player toselectively activate the turbo modes at any point in the tournament. Inone such embodiment, the gaming system enables the player to choose thetype of turbo mode to activate.

In one embodiment the turbo modes are configured to be more likely to beawarded to the players with lower scores than the players with thehigher scores. In this instance, the gaming system is more likely toaward turbo modes to lower ranked players.

In another embodiment, the gaming system randomly determines one or moregaming machines or players to provide a turbo mode. It should beappreciated that the gaming system may randomly change any one of atournament player's game during play of the tournament. For example, thegaming system may randomly provide a tournament player a bonus such asmultiple jackpots for a designated period of time, an arbitrary bump orincrease in the player's score, a special prize, or the opportunity fora point bonus if a certain game outcome occurs (such as designatedscatter pays, particular poker hand, three blank symbols, etc). Incertain embodiments, this turbo mode “bounces” around from player toplayer either at random, or based on one or more triggering events. Thatis, the gaming system randomly provides one tournament player a turbomode and then the gaming system provides the next tournament player aturbo mode. This can rotate to each tournament player or to less thanall of the tournament players.

It should be appreciated that the gaming system may notify a player of aturbo mode in any suitable manner. In one embodiment, the gaming systemcauses the secondary display of the gaming device that the player isplaying to display a message, such as an animation, to alert the playerthey are playing in a turbo mode or a turbo mode for a designated periodof time. In one embodiment, the gaming system causes an auditory alert.For example, the secondary display of the gaming machine begins to flashcolorful animation wildly and additionally provides an appropriate audiomessage and/or jingle or song signifying to the player and those aroundthe player, that the player's tournament game is now in turbo mode. Themessaging to the player may change during the turbo mode in any suitablemanner. For example, in the embodiment where the turbo mode movesrandomly from tournament gaming machine to tournament gaming machine,lighting and/or sound may be used to alert the player that the turbomode is about to terminate and move to another gaming machine.

One turbo mode includes a locked expanding wild. In this embodiment, atleast one of the reels of the slot game stops spinning for a certaintime period, a game or a number of games. A wild symbol then expandscreating a wild symbol at all or a plurality of the symbol locations onthat stopped reel. This locked expanding wild increases the chance of awinning combination for the player.

Another turbo mode includes an extra symbol being wild. That is, upon atriggering event, an extra symbol acts as a wild symbol. The extrasymbol may act as the wild symbol for that game, for a limited timeperiod or may require credits to be wagered to maintain the extra wildsymbol.

In another turbo mode, all pays are evaluated as scatter pays in a slotgame. That is, instead of the gaming machine evaluating symbols along apayline, any combination of generated symbols count towards the win.

In another turbo mode, upon a triggering event, the player's scores aremultiplied by multipliers. These multipliers may be randomly determinedor may be determined based on some other game event. The multiplier maymultiply a single game score or multiple game scores.

In another turbo mode includes a random point increase or pointincrement. In one such embodiment, the gaming system adds an amount tothe player's score to increase the player's points.

In another turbo mode, the gaming machine changes the paytable toprovide the player with extra points. For example, in one suchembodiment, the gaming machine provides one or more extra winningcombinations. For example, a symbol combination that does not normallyresult in a payout, results in a payout. In another such embodiment, theamount associated with a winning symbol combination increases. Inanother embodiment, a symbol becomes a special symbol that provides anaward to the player.

In another turbo mode, the gaming machine enables the player to play thegame faster. That is, the time it takes the gaming machine to generate agame result is reduced, enabling the player to play more games. In onesuch example, the gaming machine goes into auto play mode, therefore,the player does not have to press a button to initiate game play,speeding up the rate of play.

In another turbo mode, the gaming device changes the number of paylinesor ways to win. For example, instead of having three paylines, theplayer is awarded five paylines during turbo mode. In anotherembodiment, the player is awarded more ways to win. In anotherembodiment, the turbo mode includes scatter pay.

In another embodiment, the gaming machine (with or without instructionfrom the central server) automatically selects the turbo mode for theplayer and automatically begins the tournament mode.

In one embodiment, the turbo feature is awarded randomly by a mysterymechanism that is checked once per spin (such as a flag). Certainweighting factors can change throughout the tournament, such as aplayer's point standing. These weighting factors determine whether ornot the player receives a turbo mode and can include variables such asposition, leader's position, time, or any other variable. Theseweighting factors are used in a calculation to determine the likelihoodof the player receiving a turbo mode.

It should be appreciated that a turbo mode may be implemented based offof any suitable factor. In one embodiment, the gaming system implementsa turbo mode for a player based on a player ranking. For example,platinum level players receive at least one turbo mode per tournamentround. In another embodiment, the gaming system implements a turbo modefor a player based on an extra wager made for the tournament. In anotherembodiment, the gaming system implements a turbo mode for a player basedon a random determination. In another embodiment, the gaming systemimplements a turbo mode for a player based on time. The odds ofproviding a player with a turbo mode may change as the tournamentprogresses.

In another embodiment, when the game is set to trigger a turbo mode, thegaming system (either the gaming device or the gaming system) randomlydetermines which type of turbo mode to award to the player according toa weighted table. The weights of the type of turbo modes may be static(remain the same throughout the tournament) or dynamic (change theweights over time with respect to certain factors, such as playerperformance).

In another embodiment, the gaming machine determines the turbo modewithout weighting. Alternatively, the gaming device enables the playerto determine which turbo mode to implement. In one embodiment, due tothe time-sensitive nature of tournaments, this choice may be required tohave been previously stored (such as in the player's accountpreferences) and requires no player interaction. It should beappreciated that these special bonus or turbo features may occur in atournament game in any combination concurrently or alone. In oneembodiment, the player has the option of selecting which turbo option orbonus option to employ in the game, lending more strategy to thecompetition. In one such embodiment, the player selects a turbo modeprior to tournament game play. In this embodiment, the player does nothave to slow down game play to select the turbo mode. Upon receiving aturbo mode, the gaming machine automatically goes into the turbo modeselected by the player without requiring any player entry or inputduring tournament game play. That is, the gaming system saves theplayer's turbo mode preferences and selectively activates one or more ofthe turbo modes based on any suitable event, such as a triggering gameevent or a random determination.

For example, a number of players compete in a timed tournament whichlasts for ten minutes. At the end of the first fifteen minutes, Player Ais winning and Player B is drastically behind. With each spin, thegaming system makes a determination as to whether each player willreceive a turbo mode. With the current standings in the tournament, itis determined that Player A has a 30% chance of receiving a turbo modewith each spin and Player B has a 90% chance.

After continuing play with turbo mode for two more minutes, Player B hasreceived a greater number of turbo modes than Player A. Accordingly, theplayers are nearly tied. At this time, the evaluations of whether or notthe players will receive a turbo mode are aligned with the currentstandings (i.e. both players have a 50% chance or receiving the turbomode). Additionally, the gaming system weights the types of turbo modesthe players can receive and changes the weights of one or more types ofturbo modes throughout the tournament.

Players may join a synchronized tournament at the same time.Alternatively, in one embodiment, the gaming system includes a frenzymode where the gaming system enables players to elect to join thetournament at particular times, in addition to the tournament starttime. The gaming system may communicate the times to the players in anysuitable manner, such as display the times on one or more displaydevices or signs, make an announcement in the gaming establishment, orthrough player tracking. This mode enables players to enter thetournament at multiple times.

The gaming system may create equivalence for players joining thetournament at a later time to enable the players to catch up in pointsto the earlier joined tournament players in any suitable manner. In oneembodiment, a later player receives faster games to achieve more points.In another embodiment, all of the points are doubled for the laterjoining players. In another embodiment, the gaming system enables thelater joining player to place a higher wager, increasing possible pointsfor winning combinations. In another embodiment, one or more gameoutcomes are multiplied for the later joining players. In anotherembodiment, the gaming system provides the later joining player one ormore extra reels. Such reels may be displayed next to the originallydisplayed reels. In another embodiment, the gaming system provides thelater joining player a second set of reels, which may be displayed on asecondary display device. In another embodiment, the gaming systemprovides extra paylines for the later joining player. In anotherembodiment, the gaming device doubles all of the game outcomes based onthe original paylines for the later joining player. The gaming systemmay employ any suitable method to create parity for the later joiningtournament players.

In one type of tournament, the gaming system enables players to choose atournament game from a list of plurality of tournament games. That is, aplurality of the games are programmed to have the same odds and aplurality of different games may be included in the tournament.

In one embodiment, the gaming system enables teams to play tournaments.That is, a plurality of players either form a team to play a tournamentor are assigned as a team by the gaming establishment operator orrandomly by the central controller. Team play may be incorporated intothe scoring of the tournament by utilizing (a) each player's score inthe tournament team rank determination; (b) a player's highest score foreach team in the tournament team rank determination; or (c) only selectscores from one or more of the players for each team in the tournamentteam rank determination.

In one embodiment, the gaming system enables players at differentlocations or gaming establishments to compete against each other. In onesuch embodiment, the players compete against every other player in thetournament to win the prize. That is, the player plays against otherplayers in the gaming establishment the player is playing in, andadditionally plays against other players at other gaming establishments.

In another multi-property embodiment, teams are formed by the player'slocations. These teams then compete against each other for thetournament prize. For example, five players are on a team and six gamingestablishment locations have a team. Each of the six teams competesagainst each other for a prize.

In another team tournament embodiment, the tournament is a multi-roundtournament. In the first round, each of a plurality of players plays ona same team in a preliminary round. In the final round, each member ofthe qualifying teams plays individually to win the grand tournamentprize. For example, Team A includes Players 1, 2, and 3 and Team Bincludes players 4, 5, and 6. For the first round, the players of Team Acompete against the players of Team B to advance to the final round ofthe tournament as a team. Team A advances to the final round. In thefinal round, the players of Team A, Players 1, 2, and 3, individuallyplay the tournament. That is, each of the players competes against eachand is no longer on a team.

In another embodiment, the tournament makes game pays from tournamentwins. That is, upon a tournament win, the gaming system credits theplayer's tournament account or credit meter and immediately switches thegaming machine back to non-tournament mode. The gaming system thenenables the players to use the tournament win to wager on non-tournamentgames at the same gaming machine.

It should be appreciated that the gaming system of the presentdisclosure may operate over a wireless gaming system. The gamingmachines of the gaming system may be hand held or wireless devices thatenable players to play non-tournament and tournament games at a varietyof different locations. Any aspect or step of the tournament or regulargame play may be accomplished through wireless game play, including thefunctions of the gaming establishment operator. For example, the gamingestablishment operator may start the tournament round or session from awireless apparatus or a player may play a round or session from awireless apparatus. Wireless apparatuses may display any suitable typeof information to the players, to the public and/or to the gamingestablishment operators such as, a list of qualified players, the scoresof a tournament, the rules of the tournament and any other suitableinformation.

In one embodiment, the gaming system enables one or more players to makeone or more side bets on one or more player's tournament performance. Inthis embodiment, the player is enabled to place a side bet, or sidewager on the outcome of one or more tournament players' games. Once theplayer places a side bet for a designated player performance, the gamingsystem provides the player an outcome based on that side wager or sidebet. In one embodiment, the gaming system enables the player to wager onhis or her own performance. In one embodiment, the gaming system enablesnon-tournament player's to place side wagers. In one embodiment, thegaming system only enables players to wager on player performance priorto the start of the tournament. In another embodiment, the gaming systemenables players to wager on player performance while the tournament isoccurring but stops the wagering upon a triggering event. In thisembodiment, the system is constantly recalculating odds and associatedpayout based on current performance.

Such side wagers may be used in any sort of proposition wagering. Forexample, side wagers may be made on where a certain player is going tofinish (i.e., the lower half or the upper half of the tournamentplayers). The side wagers may be made on a final point total for aplayer (i.e., point total over 1000 points). Additionally, the sidewagers may be placed on the age of the winner, whether the winner may bemale or female or any other type of proposition betting.

In one embodiment, the tournament offers insurance to a player that theywill make it to a final round or win a prize in the tournament. That is,for a monetary fee, a player can win money for not winning thetournament. For example, a player may buy insurance for a set fee, $5,and if the player does not win an award in the tournament, the playerreceives a certain award, such as $10 back. However, if the player winsthe tournament, the player does not receive the insurance back. Itshould be appreciated that insurance may be used in any suitable aspectof tournament play.

The points earned in a tournament may be used by the gaming system inany suitable manner. In one embodiment, the tournament points are addedto a player's account. In another embodiment, tournament points qualifyplayers for one or more other tournaments. In another embodiment,collecting a certain number of tournament points within a specified timeperiod enters the player in a drawing for a prize.

In one embodiment, the gaming machines available for a tournament orenrolled in a tournament identify themselves to potential tournamentplayers and gaming establishment workers. This identification may becompleted in any suitable manner.

In one embodiment, the gaming machines each include lights around atleast one of the display devices. The gaming machine illuminates thelights to indicate that the gaming machine is either available for atournament, in tournament mode or is in pre-tournament mode. It shouldbe appreciated that the primary display and/or the secondary display mayinclude lights to indicate one or more gaming machine states.

In another embodiment, the gaming establishment causes the gamingmachine to be illuminated by a spotlight to indicate that the gamingmachine is either available for a tournament, in tournament mode or isin pre-tournament mode.

In another embodiment, one or more sides or parts of each gaming machineis clear and the gaming machine illuminates the part of the gamingmachine to indicate a gaming machine state. For example, the top box ortop part of the gaming machine includes glass panels to the left of thesecondary display and the right of the secondary display. The gamingmachine illuminates one or both of the glass panels to indicate that thegaming machine is either available for a tournament, in tournament modeor is in pre-tournament mode. For example, the gaming machineilluminates the left panel to indicate that the gaming machine isavailable for a tournament and the right panel to indicate that thegaming machine is in tournament mode.

In one embodiment, a plurality or all of the gaming machines of thegaming system include a candle. A candle is a light that is typicallylocated on the top of the gaming machine. In one embodiment, the candlesare round so that an attendant or gaming establishment worker can seethe lit candle from any direction. It should also be appreciated thatthe candle and may be any suitable size and any suitable shape. Thecandle may be lit for any suitable reason. In one embodiment, when agaming machine enters a tournament mode, the candle of that gamingmachine is lit to indicate to the gaming establishment operator that thegaming machine is in tournament mode.

It should be appreciated that the candles of a gaming machine may be litfor any number of reasons. In one embodiment, the gaming machineilluminates the candle if a player attempts to cash out an amount thatis too large for the machine to pay or the machine runs out of money sothat an attendant can make a hand payment to the player. In oneembodiment, the candles are also lit if the player requests service suchas bar service. In any case, the candle informs the gaming establishmentoperator that the gaming device or player needs attention so that anattendant or operator can respond efficiently.

In one embodiment, the gaming system illuminates the candles of thegaming machines differently for different purposes. That is, the gamingsystem may illuminate the candle differently depending on a particularproblem that needs to be addressed or the gaming mode that needs to beindicated. It should be appreciated that the different gaming machineconditions or modes may be indicated by a candle in any suitable manner.

For example, if an attendant is needed by a player at a gaming machine,the gaming system causes the candle to be illuminated a certain color,such as yellow. When a gaming machine causes the gaming machine toswitch to tournament mode, the gaming machine causes the candle to beilluminated in another color such as red.

In another embodiment, the candle is structurally able to signaldifferent problems or gaming modes to the operator simultaneously. Forexample, in one embodiment, the candle includes two openings for lightto permeate. That is, in one embodiment, the candle has a lower slit andan upper slit. The gaming system illuminates the lower slit when agaming operator is needed at a gaming machine and the gaming systemilluminates the upper slit when the gaming machine is in tournamentmode.

In another embodiment, instead of a physical marker on a gaming machineto indicate tournament mode, such as the candle, the gaming systemincludes a graphical marker, such that the gaming system has thecapability to indicate tournament machines. For example, the gamingsystem includes a graphic representation of the floor. That is, thegaming system includes a layout representing all of the gaming machineson a gaming establishment floor. In one embodiment, this graphicalrepresentation is displayable via a kiosk, personal computer or a gamingmachine to a gaming establishment operator. This graphicalrepresentation may be used in any step of the tournament process. In oneembodiment, a marker/flag is associated and displayed with the gamingmachines in tournament mode to enable the gaming establishment operatorto quickly identify which gaming machines are in tournament mode and sothat the operator may perform various queries relating to them. Forexample, the gaming system enables the gaming establishment operator toview only the occupied tournament gaming machines, only view theunoccupied tournament gaming machines view the winning tournament gamingmachine or any other suitable sorting of the gaming machines.

FIGS. 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D and 16E illustrate one method of a tournament.As illustrated in FIG. 16A, the operator opens the tournament on anapparatus such as a personal computer to configure the tournament, asillustrated in block 260. The operator determines and sets any suitabletournament parameters, as illustrated in block 262. For example, theoperator may set any of the parameters previously discussed, such as thetournament time, the type of tournament, the tournament game, the gamingmachines, the affiliated signs and the time of the tournament. Asillustrated in block 264, the gaming system configures at the tournamentat the scheduled server. As illustrated in block 266, the gaming systemgoes into pre-tournament mode at a configured or reserved time. That is,a certain amount of time prior to the start of the tournament, theserver prepares the determined gaming machines for the tournament.

As illustrated in FIG. 16A, in block 268, the server identifies whichgaming machines are configured for the tournament to place the gamingmachines in pre-tournament mode and disable the gaming machines fromnon-tournament game play. As illustrated in diamond 270, for each gamingmachine, the server determines if the tournament gaming machine is idle.If the tournament gaming machine is not idle, the gaming system waitsfor a predetermined time, as illustrated in block 272. If the tournamentgaming machine is idle, the gaming system disables the gaming machinefrom live play, as illustrated in block 274. As illustrated in block276, the gaming device, in thin client mode (meaning that the server iscontrolling the display of the gaming machine) displays a custom messageon the tournament gaming machines that are disabled from live play. Thecustom message may include any appropriate message, including but notlimited to information about the tournament, the gaming machine and thestart time. In one embodiment, server downloads the tournament programto the gaming machines memory, such that the processor of the gamingmachine controls the game, as illustrated in block 278.

As illustrated in FIG. 16B, the server confirms the configuration of thetournament as illustrated in block 280. The server determines if all ofthe number of configured gaming machines are in tournament mode, asillustrated in diamond 282. If the number of gaming machines are notconfigured in tournament mode, the gaming system determines whether toreserve additional gaming machines, as illustrated in diamond 284. Thatis, the gaming operator determines a number of gaming machines toconfigure for the tournament. Before the tournament begins, the serverdetermines if each of those gaming machines became idle and wasdisabled. If a player remained playing on one of the tournament gamingmachines, the operator determines whether to reserve more gamingmachines. If the operator wants to enable the player on an occupiedtournament gaming machine to keep playing non-tournament games, theoperator may select another gaming machine for the tournament andrapidly configure that gaming machine. If a gaming establishmentoperator selects to disable a gaming machine that a player is playingon, the gaming establishment may offer an incentive to the player totransfer to another gaming machine, such as a free amount of gamecredits. It should be appreciated that adding more gaming machines mayalso be used to accommodate last minute tournament entries. For example,if a player registers or joins the tournament within five minutes to thestart of the tournament, the operator may add in another gaming machinefor that player.

If the operator determines to reserve additional gaming machines for thetournament, the operator determines more gaming machines from the listof idle gaming machines to configure for the tournament, as illustratedin block 286. The server determines if the server can configure thedetermined idle gaming machines for the tournament, as illustrated indiamond 288. If the server cannot configure the idle gaming machines,the operator reserves additional gaming machines, as illustrated inblock 286. It should be appreciated a gaming establishment operator mayreserve additional gaming machines for any suitable reason.

As illustrated in FIG. 16B, when either the gaming machines have beendisabled, as illustrated in block 290 or if the gaming system determinesnot to reserve additional gaming machines, as illustrated in diamond284, the server enables the tournament game on each of the configuredtournament gaming machines, as illustrated in block 292. The serverconfigures the signs of the gaming system to tournament mode, asillustrated in block 294. As indicated in block 296, the tournamentbegins when it is time to start the tournament. The gaming systemconfigures signs and other display devices into tournament mode, asillustrated in block 294.

In one embodiment, once a sufficient number of gaming machines arereserved, the server begins the final tournament preparations, asillustrated in FIG. 16C, block 296. In one embodiment, the serverenables the game program on the enrolled gaming machines, as illustratedin block 298. The gaming machine displays the final message to theregistered players, as illustrated in block 300. The primary display ofeach enrolled gaming machine displays the game and sets each player'spoints and times to default values, as illustrated in block 302. Theserver causes the sign displays to message about registered players notpresent at their assigned gaming machine, as illustrated in block 304.As illustrated in block 306, the server sends a duplicate message ofwhich players are absent to the operator.

The gaming system determines if the operator approves the start of thefinal countdown to the tournament start, as illustrated in diamond 308.If the operator does not approve the start of the final countdown to thetournament start, the server determines if is the time for the finalcountdown scheduled time, as illustrated in diamond 310. If it is thescheduled time, the server causes the countdown to be displayed on theenrolled gaming machines and signs as illustrated in block 314. If theoperator determines it is time to start the scheduled countdown, theserver determines if the operator has started the final countdown to thetournament, as illustrated in diamond 312. If the operator has notstarted the time to the final countdown, the server continues todetermine if the operator has started the final countdown. If the serverdetermines that the final countdown has started, the server messages thegaming machines and the signs to display the final countdown to thetournament, as illustrated in block 314. After the final countdown, theserver messages the gaming machines to start the tournament asillustrated in block 316.

As illustrated in FIG. 16D, block 318, the gaming machines each displaythe tournament game, as illustrated in block 318. The gaming machinesenable the registered players to play the tournament game at theassigned gaming machine, as illustrated in block 320. The players'points and ranks are updated on the gaming machine displays and signs,as illustrated in block 322. The server sends and receives variables ofthe players, such as the player's status, time, points and rank, asillustrated in block 324. That is, the server receives messages fromeach gaming machine regarding the player of that gaming machine. Theserver then sends that message to the other gaming machines and signs.As illustrated in diamond 326, the server determines if each of theplayers receives a turbo feature based on the variables. If the playerreceives one or more turbo features, the server enables one or moreturbo modes for a time period to enable the player to score more points,as illustrated in block 328. Either when the turbo mode is over, or ifthe player does not receive a turbo mode, the base tournament gamecontinues, as illustrated in block 330. The tournament continues withdifferent players in different game modes, as illustrated in block 332.For example, one player may be playing with two turbo modes and oneplayer may be playing with four turbo modes. The server causes the signsto display updates with messages and player rankings, as illustrated inblock 334. For each player, that player's position and points and thetop ranked players are displayed on that player's gaming machine, asillustrated in block 336. According to the tournament configurations,the tournament ends, as illustrated in block 338.

As illustrated in FIG. 16D, each gaming machine sends the results to theserver, as illustrated in block 340. The gaming machine and signsdisplay final session results such as player rankings, and further roundof information, if there are multiple rounds, as illustrated in block342. As illustrated in block 344, in a multi-session tournament the signdisplays display information from multiple sessions. Upon the sessionconclusion, round conclusion or tournament conclusion, the gamingmachines each print a ticket with the player results for each player ateach gaming machine, as illustrated in block 346. These results confirmthe tournament game results for that player.

As illustrated in FIG. 16D, the server determines if each gamingmachines is enrolled in another tournament session, as illustrated indiamond 348. If the gaming machine is not enrolled for anothertournament session, the server enables live wager or non-tournamentgaming mode on that gaming machine, as illustrated in block 350. Thegaming machines return to standard/non-tournament game mode and enablethe tournament player to remain at the gaming machine to playnon-tournament games, as illustrated in block 352.

If the gaming machine is enrolled in another tournament session, thegaming machine remains in tournament mode, as illustrated in block 354.The server sends the next assigned player information to the gamingmachine, as illustrated in block 356. The gaming machine sits idle andwaits for the assigned player, as illustrated in block 358 and the wholeprocess begins again.

As illustrated in FIG. 16E, after each of the sessions, the servercompiles and sorts each of the players' points or game results. Theserver determines if the tournament is a multi-round tournament, asillustrated in diamond 362. If the tournament is not a multi-roundtournament, the final results of the sessions and the winners aredisplayed on the signs and kiosk, as illustrated in block 364. Thegaming system enables the winners to redeem their prize at the kiosk orwith the operator, as illustrated in block 366.

If the tournament is a multi-round tournament, the server adds togetherthe session results for each player in each round, as illustrated inblock 368 of FIG. 16E. The server determines if there is a finalqualification round, as illustrated in diamond 370. If there is not afinal qualification round, the server displays the final results of allthe rounds and the tournament winner on the signs and kiosks, asillustrated in block 372.

If the tournament includes a final round, gaming machines enable thequalified players to play the final round, as illustrated in block 374of FIG. 16E. One or more winners of the tournament are notified at thatgaming machine at the end of the final round, as illustrated in block376. For each winner, the gaming machine of the winner prints out aticket, as illustrated in block 378. The gaming system enables thewinners to redeem their prize at the kiosk or with the operator, asillustrated in block 380. The server sends a message to enable each ofthe gaming machines participating in the tournament to go intonon-tournament game mode, as illustrated in block 382. The gamingmachines enable the players to play non-tournament games, as illustratedin block 384. That is, each of the players of the tournament may playnon-tournament games on the gaming machine when the tournament is over.

FIG. 17 illustrates one method of a bonus or automatic tournament. Afterthe tournament has been configured, the gaming system enables players toenter or register for an automatic tournament if a player meets one ormore qualifying conditions. As illustrated in block 300, the gamingmachines of the gaming system enable players to play standard,non-tournament games and collect points or other qualifying events. Thegaming machine sends the points and other events to the server for eachplayer, as illustrated in block 302. The server determines if the playeris qualified for an automatic tournament, as illustrated in diamond 304.If the player is not qualified to play the tournament, the gamingmachine continues enabling the player to play non-tournament games, asillustrated in block 300.

If the server determines that the player is qualified for thetournament, the server messages the gaming machine to offer a tournamentto the qualified player, as illustrated in block 306. The serverdetermines if the player accepts the tournament, as illustrated indiamond 308. If the player does not accept the tournament, the gamingmachine continues enabling the player to play non-tournament games, asillustrated in block 300.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, if the player accepts the tournament, theserver enables the gaming machine to provide the tournament to theplayer, as illustrated in block 310. The gaming machine enables theplayer to play the tournament game on the gaming machine, as illustratedin block 312. The gaming machine sends the tournament results to theserver with identifying information of the player, as illustrated inblock 314. The server determines if the tournament is still active, asillustrated by diamond 316. If the tournament is no longer active, theserver sends the final results or round results to the gaming machines,signs and/or kiosks, as illustrated in block 318. The server determinesif a winner is actively playing one of the gaming machines, asillustrated in diamond 320. If the winner is actively playing one of thegaming machines, the server sends a message to that gaming machine tonotify the player at that gaming machine of the tournament win, asillustrated in block 322. The gaming machine prints an award ticket forthe winner, as illustrated in block 324. If the winning player is notactively playing one of the gaming machines, the server notifies thewinner by other means, as illustrated in block 326. Upon the completionof a tournament game at any of the gaming machines, the server sends amessage to that gaming machine to resume non-tournament game play.

It should be appreciated that if a player is not qualified for atournament, the gaming system may inform the player how to qualify forthe tournament in any suitable manner. In one embodiment, when a playeris a certain number of points away, the gaming machine messages theplayer how much more they have to win to qualify for the tournament. Forexample, if a player is five player points away from qualifying thetournament, the gaming system messages the player how far they are awayfrom qualifying. The gaming system may message the player at certaintime intervals or upon certain events. In one embodiment, when a playerattempts to cash out, the gaming system informs the player of how farthey have to qualify for the tournament. In one such embodiment, thegaming system enables the player to qualify for a tournament afterperforming a certain task before cashing out. For example, the playerpresses the cash out button and the gaming machine informs the player ifthey play three more games, they will qualify for the tournament. Itshould be appreciated that the gaming system may update the player as tothe player's tournament qualification status in any suitable manner.

FIG. 18 illustrates one embodiment of an invited guest tournament whichis a self-scheduled tournament. The server stores a list of invitedplayers or player entered for the tournament, as illustrated in block330. The host or operator of the tournament enters the time range of thetournament, the number of sessions to be played and which gamingmachines are the eligible gaming machines, as illustrated in block 332.In one embodiment, the server downloads the tournament game to theenrolled gaming machines before the tournament start time, asillustrated in block 334. When the tournament time range starts, theenrolled gaming machines remain in standard mode and are operable to beactivated into tournament mode, as illustrated in block 336. In oneembodiment, the enrolled gaming machines visually or audibly identifythemselves as tournament ready machines, as illustrated in block 338. Itshould be appreciated that the gaming machines may identify themselvesin any suitable manner. The server determines if a player is identifiedat an enrolled gaming machine, as illustrated in diamond 340. If theplayer is not enrolled at one of the enrolled gaming machines, thegaming machine continues to identify which gaming machines are operableto play the tournament game, as illustrated in block 338.

If a tournament player is identified at an enrolled gaming machine, thegaming machine messages the player an offer to start the tournamentsession, as illustrated in block 342. The gaming machine determines ifthe player accepts the offer to play the tournament session, asillustrated in diamond 346. If the player does not accept the offer, thegaming machine notifies the player of the time left to play orparticipate in the tournament session, as illustrated in block 348. Thegaming machine enables the player to continue play standard games withlive wagers, as illustrated in block 350.

If the gaming machine determines that the player accepts the offer, thegaming machine enables the tournament game to be played, as illustratedin block 352. The player chooses when to the play the tournament game,within the allowed time range, as illustrated in block 354. Upon playerinput, the gaming machine enables the player to play the tournament gameuntil the tournament game ends, as illustrated in block 356. The gamingmachine sends the tournament game results to the server, as illustratedin block 358. The gaming machine provides the player a confirmationticket with the tournament game results, as illustrated in block 360.The server sends updated tournament rankings to gaming machines, signsand kiosks for display, as illustrated in block 362. At the expirationof the tournament, the server determines the tournament winner andnotifies the tournament winner via any suitable method, as illustratedin block 364. The gaming system enables the gaming machine to return tostandard game play.

In one embodiment, the gaming system includes a special accountingsystem for tournament proceeds and payouts. That is, the money allottedfor the tournament is stored in the gaming system separately than themoney wagered by players. In one such embodiment, the gaming systemincludes a first fund that accounts for the wagers placed innon-tournament play at the gaming machines. In this embodiment, thegaming system includes a second fund for the tournament buy-ins andentry fees. That is, player money or credits that are spent ontournament play are stored apart from player money or credits that arespent on non-tournament game play. It should be appreciated that thegaming system may account for tournament funds in any suitable manner.

It should be appreciated that any suitable element of any of theexamples disclosed herein may be combined. It should be understood thatvarious changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodimentsdescribed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Suchchanges and modifications can be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing itsintended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes andmodifications be covered by the appended claims.

1. A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising: (a)enabling a plurality of players to play non-tournament games at aplurality of gaming machines; (b) causing a plurality of said gamingmachines to provide tournament play of a tournament by sending at leastone command to said plurality of gaming machines to switch to tournamentplay, said tournament having a plurality of tournament game outcomesincluding at least one designated tournament game outcome; (c) enablingeach of a plurality of players to play tournament games in thetournament on said plurality of gaming machines; (d) for each tournamentgame played, generating one of the tournament game outcomes; (e) at anend of the tournament, determining which player had the most generationsof the at least one designated tournament game outcome; and (f)notifying said player that said player wins an award.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, which includes sending at least one tournament game program toeach of said plurality of gaming machines.
 3. The method of claim 1,which includes sending least one command to each of said plurality ofgaming machines that provided tournament play to provide non-tournamentplay after the tournament.
 4. The method of claim 1, which includessending at least one non-tournament game program to each of saidplurality of gaming machines that provided tournament play.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the tournament is selected from the groupconsisting of: a synchronized tournament, a self-scheduled tournament,and a bonus tournament.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at leastone central controller and the gaming machines are configured todetermine player qualification for said tournament based on at least oneselected from the group consisting of: a player card level, a locationof one of the gaming machines, a wager amount, a placement of a sidewager, an amount won, a jackpot win, a bonus win, a player trackingrank, and a win from another tournament.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein said tournament play does not require wagers by the players. 8.The method of claim 1, which includes determining another player toreceive a prize based on results of the tournament game outcomes of theplayed tournament games at the end of the tournament to and to notifysaid another player that said another player wins said prize.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the at least one designated tournament gameoutcome is selected from the group consisting of: a generation of adesignated symbol, a designated symbol generation along an activepayline, a number of generations of a designated symbol, a number ofgenerations of a designated symbol combination, and a generation of adesignated symbol in a designated location.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one designated tournament game outcome includes aplurality of different designated tournament game outcomes.
 11. Themethod of claim 1, which includes determining which player had the mostgenerations of each different designated tournament game outcomes andnotify each of said players that said player wins an award.